Private Hospitals Reject NHIS Over Unpaid Arrears

The Health Insurance Service Providers Association (HISPAG) has begun collecting cash from patients who have subscribed to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) when they visit their facilities.

The association, with almost 400 members from Monday, February 8, began the cash-and-carry system as a result of the delay in the payment of over eight months' claims by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

To make matters worse, some pharmacies have also suspended NHIS cards for lack of payment of claims by the Authority.

Executive Director of HISPAG, Frank Tobloh, said the NHIA owes HISPAG GH¢36m of unpaid claims.

The association, he said, has been forced to suspend NHIS cards because of the increasing cost of rendering service to NHIS card holders.

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“As at April last year, some facilities were not paid. That is the situation we find ourselves in. We have resolved that anybody who holds the National Health Insurance cards and gets into any of our facilities, we are not going to turn them away but make sure they pay cash for the service and the drugs that we provide for such persons,” Mr Tobloh said.

He lamented that a road map proposed by the association for the payment of their money is yet to receive any response from the Authority.

“NHIA owes us for a period of almost eight months so we are saying that for January they should pay two months in arrears then for every month they pay one month in arrears. They will still have eight months areas but we as providers are not worried because we are getting one month claim.

For example, you owe us from June 2015, so you pay June and July in January, so August will be paid in February and that is exactly what we are looking at,” he explained.

Mr Tobloh said the association will continue to collect money until their arrears are paid, “because we are not able to buy medicine and we need money to do that.”

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri