The Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana has thrown a challenge at the Akufo-Addo led administration to submit its disbursement of National Health Insurance Funds in anticipation of government’s failure to release payments to private health care providers in the country.
The association’s agitations comes after it has been reported that the Private Health facilities warned that failure by the Finance Ministry to release their health insurance funding as a provider will see the association embark on a partial withdrawal in the coming weeks.
Speaking in an interview on Republic FM’s Anopa Dawuro with Kwame Koranteng on Wednesday, April 6, the secretary of the Association, Mr. Frank Torblu Richard said, all drugs they provided at the hospital are NHIS cards and at the same time, there are drugs which are not for National Health insurance cards and therefore, according to the contract NHIS, they have to stock NHIS drugs but as we speak, government have not paid for their services for some 4 to 9 months.
The secretary said, for lab and other meager forms of services, they will provide but will not provide services – free for drugs.
“If you come to our hospitals, you will pay for any drugs prescribed for you but all the consultations and other clinical services, we will give you”, he stated.
The PFHA says, upon further checks and reviews, their outfit established that the government has taken GH¢2billion from the general public in terms of National health insurance scheme.
According to him, the government only accounted for GH¢127 million with GH¢1.83 billion unaccounted for.
“From our checks, we realized the government has taken Gh.2billion from the National health insurance funds and for that money, they only accounted for Gh127.million with a credit of Gh1.83 billion which they are not able to account for it, I’m say so because the money is national health insurance levy and so when you mobilize it, you must give it national health insurance authority”, he said.
In addition, the association however stated that, that hospitals can remain operational without health insurance but insisted that the public health sector cannot survive without the assistance of the private sector.
