Birim South District Mutual Health Scheme being abused - Rev. Kwarteng

Very Reverend Kwaku Kwarteng, Chairman of Board of Directors of Birim South District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme has expressed concern about its abuse by clients in the district.

He said multiple medical bills were on the increase posing a threat to the scheme's sustainability.

Rev. Kwarteng was addressing the first ordinary meeting of Birim South District Mutual Health Scheme at Akyem Oda at the weekend.

He noted that bills paid to health facilities were overwhelming and when pragmatic measures were not instituted, the scheme and facilities would face crisis.

Rev. Kwarteng said the scheme had so far paid 650,000 Ghana cedis as medical bills this year as against 360,000 Ghana cedis paid last year for the same period.

"Last year we paid an average of about 85 pesewas per each attendance as against 10.6 Ghana cedis for each attendance this year," he added.

Rev. Kwarteng said the situation was affecting premiums paid by clients and the scheme's finances adding that attendance to health facilities had increased from 42,661 in 2006 to 61,430 this year.

He said the payment of 10 Ghana cedis for premium and registration would be reviewed soon.

Rev. Kwarteng said 97,232 clients had registered with the scheme representing 54 per cent of the population as against 48,282 clients who registered in 2005.

Mr Frank Kwame Busumtwi, Birim South District Chief Executive said since the scheme was the surest way for majority of Ghanaians to access affordable health care, there was the need to sustain it.

He said abuse of the scheme by clients and some service providers would not help to sustain it and appealed to all and sundry to help sustain it.

Mr Busumtwi appealed to the National Health Insurance Council to release subsidies to the scheme periodically to enable it pay claims on time.