Mfantseman MHIS pays GH¢453,629 claims

The Mfantseman District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme has paid GH¢453,629.65 as claims for 42,589 clients who accessed healthcare at a number of health facilities.

Mr Godfrey Gyebi Arthur, Manager of the Scheme, who announced this at a board meeting, said the scheme started operation in December 2005 and within one year had paid GH¢104,125.86 for 9,958 clients at health facilities in the Central Region and other parts of the country where they received attention.

He said the scheme paid GH¢349,503.79 to health facilities in 2007.

Mr Arthur said the scheme generated GH¢76,847.79 from premiums paid by the clients and received GH¢394,271.93 as subsidy from the government.

The Scheme Manager said 74,169 out of the district population of 176,791 people had registered with the scheme, and 39,476 identity cards (ID Cards) issued to the clients.

Mr Arthur called for an upwards adjustment in the minimum premium of GH¢7.20 being paid by a client to ensure sustenance of the scheme as bills being claimed by health facilities were very high and facility attendance was on the increase.

Mr Frank Neequaye, chairman of the Board of Directors called on chiefs and assembly members to encourage people in their communities to register with the scheme to enable them to access affordable health care.

"It is time people sitting on the fence realized the enormous benefit the scheme provides and register."

Nana Ataapim Kweenu VIII, Presiding Member of the Mfantseman District Assembly and Vice chairman of the Board expressed disappointment about the attitude of some people living below the poverty line, but had refused to register as indigents to enable them to afford free medical care.

Nana Kweenu, who is also the chief of Woraba near Cape Coast and Mankrado of the Nkusukum Traditional Area said records indicated that there were thousands of such people in the District but only 472 of them had registered just because they felt people would look down upon them.

Such people, he noted often absconded from health facilities without settling their bills.