Accra Gets NHIS Office

Sherry Ayitey cutting the tape to commission the building

Health Minister Sherry Ayitey last Friday inaugurated an ultra-modern building to house the Greater Accra Regional office of the National Health Insurance (NHIS).

The two-storey facility built by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) brings to 10 the number of NHIA regional offices owned by the Authority.

'I appreciate and congratulate the Authority for putting in efforts to own its office buildings rather than rent them. And I have also observed for myself the efforts operators of the scheme are putting in to enhance the reduction of fraud and this is one thing that needs commendation,' Sherry Ayitey noted.

Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive of NHIA, in his address, described the development as a 'complete change in the phase of the NHIA.'

'By 2009 we had no regional offices and we operated mainly in rented offices. But now the cost of rental has been completely eliminated because as we commission this building today, all 10 regions have regional offices owned by the Authority.'

Mr. Mensah explained that the Authority was not only interested in the infrastructure of the Scheme but also the efficiency of health delivery although health delivery does not directly fall under the Authority's mandate.

'We have also put up a Claims Processing Center (CPC) comparable to any in the world and the idea of this is to inject efficiency in the processing of claims,' he stated, and added that although the Authority still faces challenges, the exact causes and fine details of the challenges have been meticulously sorted out and the Authority, together with its stakeholders, was working to find a lasting solution.

The Chief Executive also revealed that the Authority would soon introduce instant biometric ID cards to subscribers and that a pilot programme will begin this month in the Greater Accra Region and later move to other parts of the country.

 By Halifax Ansah-Addo