Govt Must Come Out With date On The NHIS

After the introduction of the National Health Insurance Levy one was expecting the government to come up with a date for the take off of the NHIS, and subsequence abolishing of the Cash and Carry system presently in place. Ghanaians has overwhelmingly welcomed the idea of the NHIS and accepted the two and halve percent levy in good faith, which explains our readiness and our seriousness attached to the NHIS and our convinction that the scheme will serve us better than the present system. But the question is when is the NHIS actually going to be operational.

Ghanaians has started paying the Levy which started in the first of this month, and we have heard of the startup capitals the government has disbursed to the districts for their respective Mutual Health Insurance companies. But what we are yet to hear is the dead line for the abolishing of the Cash and Carry. We have also heard that some districts has started collecting premiums on the NHIS without it's inception which baffles my mind a bit, because elsewhere in europe the very day you will start paying the premium you will be elegible to the benefit of the service.

And I believe that is the way it should be here in Ghana too, because if for example someone pays the premiums for say six months and the one dies before he or she could benefit of the service, what will be his/her benefit in the end. Will the concerned MHI refund the premiums, or the victim going to be compensated? Government will have to consider the legal issues that might arise in such cases and be swift to come out with a definate agenda to forestall such situations. We are all hoping that this programe will succeed to give all Ghanaians equal acsess to our health needs. But it is up to the Government to act in that direction, to ensure the take off of the Service, and give some meaning to the positive change in our health system.