Okwawuman South Insurance Scheme registers over 80,000 members

The Okwawuman South Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, registered 80,472 members last year as against 35,067 members the previous year.

This represented an increase of 72 percent which resulted in a total annual premium payment of GH¢161,470 in 2007 as against GH¢88,580 the last two years.

The National Health Insurance Council also contributed GH¢552,171 as exempt subsidy and administrative support for the scheme.

The Acting Chairman of the Board of the Scheme, Mr Benjamin Oware-Antwi, announced this at the second Annual General Meeting of the scheme at Mpraeso.

He said the scheme paid GH¢712,461 to its service providers for the treatment of various illnesses to 79,412 members at the inpatient and out patient departments of the various hospitals, clinics and health centres in the district.

He commended the National Health Insurance Council for supporting the scheme with a Toyota pick-up, five computers and accessories, a motor bike and a bicycle while the scheme through its internally generated fund purchased an additional computer, two cameras and eight bicycles to selected agents to facilitate the registration projects.

He said, under the government's free maternal care programme, the scheme had so far registered 2,516 pregnant women and advised other number registered pregnant women to do so.

The Eastern Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Collins Akuamoah Danso, said the successful implementation of the NHIS had put the country on an enviable position on the continent “as a beacon of hope” for other African countries to emulate.

He said as at the end of the third quarter of the year, the region had registered 1,541,000 people and urged managements of the various schemes in the area to intensify their public education for more people to register.

Mr Danso advised the various schemes to conduct customer satisfaction survey at least twice a year to ascertain whether customers were being given the needed care for appropriate remedial action to be taken.

He said the NHIA was net- working all district schemes and accredited health facilities in the country to authenticate client membership at the facility level before services were provided.

The Kwahu South District Chief Executive, Nana Onwona-Asante, advised people in the area to adopt effective waste disposal system and environmental related diseases to sustain the scheme.

Four agents of the scheme, who excelled in revenue collection and registration, were presented with certificates and mobile phones.