Understanding the NHIS Provider Payment System and Capitation

 
  1.0 PROVIDER PAYMENT METHODS
Health insurance is a way of pre-paying for the health services used by residents. In health insurance, payments made are spread over the subscribers and over time in the form of some agreed regular contribution.  Services are provided according to need.  Important issues to address in setting up an effective and efficient health insurance system are:

How money is collected from residents and pooled to pay for services

What services are covered by the insurance or the benefit package

How these services are purchased or paid for on behalf of the citizens who are part of the insurance scheme; also known as the provider payment method

The Provider payment method is 'The mechanism used to transfer funds from the purchaser of health care services to the providers.'  A good provider payment method has to address and be implemented within strong support systems.  Wider systems issues of importance in developing and implementing a successful provider payment method include:

¢     Governance and Accountability
¢     Financial management
¢     Stakeholder relationships between Clients, Schemes and Providers

¢     Management information systems
¢     Monitoring and Evaluation
The provider payment system is the payment method combined with all these supporting systems.

There are several different methods that can be used to pay providers under a health insurance scheme.  These include Fee for service (this is often itemized), Diagnostic Related Groupings (DRG) and Capitation.

There is no one perfect method and each method has advantages and disadvantages.  Typically therefore most successful health insurance schemes use a combination of methods. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and a skillful mix of methods taking into account each unique country context, including economics and history is the best approach.  Effectively and efficiently managed health insurance schemes therefore provide often for a mix of provider payment methods, in a way that allows the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods to balance each other.

Provider payment methods in use in Ghana currently are:

¢     Itemized Fee for service (FFS) for non insured clients for both services and medicines

¢     Diagnosis Related Groupings (DRG) for insured clients (Services only)

¢     Itemized Fee for service (FFS) to pay for medicines for insured clients

These methods are explained briefly below.
  1.1   Itemized Fee for service
In an itemized fee for service provider payment method, the provider typically lists the different services that they have provided for the client and the cost of each service and requests payment.  To use an illustration from day to day life, it is rather like picking up the items you want from a supermarket shelf and then going to the payment counter for the individual cost of each item to be entered into the cash register and added up so that you pay your final bill.  The difference between purchasing health care services by fee for service and purchasing items in the supermarket is that because of the specialized knowledge of the health service provider, which the client or patient often does not share, the service provider chooses the 'items' for the client.

The advantage of the itemized fee for service payment method is that the provider has no incentive to leave anything off the 'shopping list'.  Whatever they think the client needs will go into the list of items supplied - unless the client does not have the ability to pay.  The disadvantage of itemized fee for service is that because, the provider is also often the 'owner' of the shop and also the one choosing the items to be purchased for the client; it is possible for the provider to provide unnecessary services, medicines and diagnostics to maximize profit. Experience all over the world shows that fee for service payment methods can lead to very rapid inflation of costs and threaten the sustainability of health insurance.  Countries such as Germany that use Fee for Service successfully in their health insurance scheme,, often devise very complicated methods to counteract this tendency and control cost inflation.

At the start of the National Health Insurance Scheme implementation Ghana was using itemized fee for service to pay for everything including medicines.  In 2007/08 the system was reformed to use a diagnostic related groupings payment for service, but medicines continued to be paid for by itemized fees for each medicine supplied.

  1.2 Diagnosis Related Groupings (DRG)
In the DRG payment method, related diagnoses are grouped together and the average cost of treatment in that group determined.  Providers are paid this average cost according to the diagnosis they give their client.  Many developed countries e.g. USA and U.K, use DRG as part of their payment systems

Currently Ghana uses the DRG system to pay for services to insured clients while continuing to pay for medicines by an itemized fee for each medicine supplied.  Under the Ghana DRG system providers have to fill claims forms for reimbursement after providing the services.  The claims made by the providers are checked (vetted) for accuracy and genuineness by the schemes and the NHIA before payment.  The process is administratively complicated and makes a heavy demand on the time of both provider and scheme staff and the NHIA.

The DRG payment method also still holds some incentives for cost escalation though what is known as 'creeping'.  This is observed all over the world where DRG is used and is not unique to any one country.  In 'creeping' the provider may deliberately give a diagnosis that attracts a higher fee e.g. instead of diagnosing simple malaria they diagnose complicated malaria.  Generally however cost inflation under a DRG payment system are less than under an itemized fee for service system. Under the Ghana DRG system medicines at all levels continue to be paid for by an itemized fee for medicine payment method and the potential of major cost escalation remains strong.

  1.3 Capitation
Capitation is a provider payment method in which providers are paid, typically in advance, a pre-determined fixed rate to provide a defined set of services for each individual enrolled with the provider for a fixed period of time. The amount paid to the provider is irrespective of whether that person would seek care or not during the designated period.

The fixed amount is typically expressed on a Per Member Per Month (PMPM) basis. The member refers to active NHIS subscribers assigned to the accredited providers.  Under this payment system, the member or subscriber selects a preferred primary provider (PPP) to provide all the services under the capitation basket in exchange for the capitation rate.  The capitation basket refers to the services and medicines that are to be paid for by the per capita rate.  The total capitation amount is transferred to the provider at the beginning of the service period. The amount is calculated based on the total number of active members who have selected a given provider.

Capitation is a well established provider payment method in several countries - high as well as middle income – and Ghana, in introducing capitation is walking a tried and tested road that many other countries have already successfully walked.  The British National Health Service has used capitation for decades.  The British system has become more complicated over time with several generations of reform but the basic principle is one of capitation.  Thailand which is lauded internationally as a middle income country that now successfully covers virtually all its citizens with health insurance, uses capitation as the base of its provider payment system and reserves methods such as DRG for the higher referral level.  Chile and Estonia are other examples of middle income countries using capitation as one of their provider payment methods; and that have been successful in attaining universal or near universal coverage with health insurance.

 
2.0 INTRODUCING CAPITATION AS A PAYMENT SYSTEM UNDER THE NHIS

 
2.1 Introduction
As has already been explained, Ghana started off its national health insurance with paying for all services and medicines by itemized fee for service.  In 2007/2008, the NHIA replaced the itemized fee for service payment method with the Ghana Diagnostic Related Groupings (G-DRG) for services and standard itemized fees for medicines for NHIS clients at all levels. 2.2 Capitation

The NHIS law that established National Health Insurance in Ghana provided for the institution of multiple payment methods including capitation.  LI 1809 specifically mentions capitation as one of the provider payment methods to be considered for use under the NHIS.  This is international best practice given there is no perfect provider payment method.

The current per capita payment method being piloted in Ghana is therefore a move to implement what is already agreed in the laws of Ghana needs to be considered for implementation.  The reform does not do away with any of the already existing provider payment methods (G-DRG for services and itemized fee for service for medicines).  Rather it introduces capitation for a specific level of care - the primary level of walk in outpatient care, which is the fundamental base of the health care systems; and reserves the DRG for services and Itemized Fee for medicines system to the higher levels of care.  Under the capitation system, the amount paid to providers will cater for selected first level outpatient department (OPD) primary care cases.

The advantages of introducing per capita payments for first level outpatient primary care as a complementary payment method to the already existing methods in the Ghana NHIS include the following:

It will reduce the current massive administrative and staff time costs of claims preparation, submission, vetting and reimbursement involved in using G-DRG and fee for services for medicines to pay for first line OPD care

It will improve the ability of the NHIA to forecast and budget

It will eliminate the current problems of delayed payment of claims - for the services in the per capita basket.  This is because monies are now being advance paid to providers

By tying clients to a PPP of their choice it reduces fragmentation of care and introduces continuity of care for clients.  It will also enable proper implementation of a referral system

By enforcing the implementation of the gatekeeper system - which is already part of the policy of the ministry of health, it will reduce some of the current misuse of care and resultant costs and wastage.  For example under the current system a client can visit several providers with the same condition - even on the same day, consuming staff resources and medicines at each point.  This is a duplication and waste of scarce staff and financial resources.

The sharing of risk between schemes/NHIA, providers and clients under a per capita system has a better potential to ensure the financial sustainability and preservation of the NHIS

The major disadvantage of a per capita system is that the provider may be tempted to provide less than needed services to the client - especially if the per capita rates are too low.  A close monitoring of quality of care provided to clients is essential in a per capita payment system.  It is also necessary to continuously and closely monitor the per capita rate to make sure that it is and remains fair as a reimbursement for the package of services covered.

In summary the per capita payment methods reform in Ghana involves:

Introducing Capitation  (Per capita payment) to replace DRG for service & FFS for medicines at the primary care level

Retaining DRG for Services & Fee for service (FFS) for medicines at Specialist OPD clinics, Hospital referrals and inpatients (district, regional, specialist and teaching hospitals).

Strengthening and enforcing the essential principles of a gatekeeper and referral system

The methods reform is supported by Systems reform that covers:

Accountability - Financial management and reporting systems

Strengthening of routine management information systems data completeness, quality, analysis and use

Built in monitoring and evaluation for continuous quality improvement

Improving Clarity in stakeholder roles and relationships, communication

Ghana's objective in introducing capitation into its provider payment systems under the NHIS stem out of the already described advantages of capitation which are to:

¢     Improve cost containment and viability of NHIS

¢     Share financial risk between schemes, providers and subscribers

¢     Introduce managed competition for providers and choice for patients (compatible with portability) to increase the responsiveness of the health system

¢     Improve efficiency and effectiveness of health services through more rational resource use

¢     Correct some imbalances created by the G-DRG e.g. OPD supplier-induced demand

¢     Simplify claims processing
¢     Address difficulties in forecasting and budgeting

¢     Better provider-patient relationship
 
3. The capitation package and the per capita rate

  3.1 Starting Package of services under Ghana's per capita model

In Ghana, capitation is being introduced as the payment method for first line basic walk-in primary care (out-patient), which is the entry point - apart from in emergencies - for access to higher levels of care.  It is important that a base package of services that can be reasonably made accessible to every Ghanaian, whether they live in a complex urban metropolis or a remote rural area, is paid for by the standard capitation rate across the country.  Based on a mapping of provider service location and availability, a basic minimum package of services that is reasonable to expect to be made available at every walk-in outpatient department (OPD) has been defined.  This defined package will be subject to regular review and modification to fit the experiences and the evolving context of Ghana rather than fixed and forever unchangeable.

The package of services referred to as the Primary Health Care (PHC) bundle comprises:

General OPD consultation with a trained primary care prescriber for

Most common Primary Health Care diagnoses.  A detailed list of these diagnoses is available.

Routine maintenance care for non insulin-dependent diabetes and hypertension (ambulatory care sensitive chronic conditions) on specific simple medications that can be used at the primary care level such as Metformin, Amlodipine and the thiazide diuretics.  Treatment at the primary care level will occur after clients have been stabilized by a trained and competent provider (General practice doctor or specialist doctor) and instructions provided to the primary care level on maintenance treatment. Periodic review by a doctor in a specialist OPD clinic and related laboratory tests beyond the basic in the PHC bundle will be covered by DRG.

Maternity consultation and services with a midwife or doctor for Antenatal and Postnatal care. Normal delivery that was originally to be included in the PHC bundle to be provided by PPP has been removed from the PHC bundle in response to concerns raised by providers about quality of care and MDG, and will be paid for by DRG.   The effects of its exclusion will be closely monitored as part of the M&E of the capitation.

Selected laboratory examinations that match the selected primary care conditions and that can be carried out even where there is not laboratory because rapid test kits that do not require a laboratory Can be used for the tests, which are:

Blood film for Malaria parasites
Hemoglobin estimation
Blood Sugar
Urine routine examination
Pregnancy test
VDRL
Selected medicines for the most common diagnoses at PHC level and antenatal and postnatal conditions

Enrolment refers to the process by which a client is linked to a PPP.  Under the Ghana capitation model, clients are being asked to voluntarily choose their PPP.  A client can only have one PPP.  In the choice clients were asked to chose a first, second and third choice not because they could use all 3, but so that if for any reason they could not be tied to their first choice PPP, it would be clear which new PPP to tie them to.  For now all clients have been tied to their first choice PPP.