President John Dramani Mahama has commended the Governing Board and Executive Management of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for increasing membership of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to more than 70 percent.
President Mahama described the development as an unprecedented achievement and said it reflected the government’s commitment to improving access to healthcare and encouraging healthier health-seeking behaviour among residents.
“I am very proud of our people at the National Health Insurance Authority, they have done very well,” he said.
The President made the remarks while addressing chiefs and residents of the Upper East Region during his tour of the region, where he launched the Free Primary Health Care programme at Zuarungu.
He said the NHIA had increased service tariffs and medicine prices for credentialed healthcare providers to improve their financial sustainability and strengthen the delivery of services under the NHIS.
According to President Mahama, the adjustments should eliminate the justification for healthcare facilities to impose illegal additional charges on NHIS members.
“By this development, the credentialed facilities have no basis in practising illegal collection of extra charges from the NHIS members,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA in charge of Finance and Investments, Ms Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri, attributed the Authority’s recent achievements partly to the uncapped National Health Insurance Levy.
She also praised President Mahama for what she described as his visionary leadership and commitment to strengthening the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Ms Bogobiri further highlighted the One Time Authentication Code (OTAC), a digital solution currently being piloted in five regions.
The system is designed to update the contact details of NHIS members, validate their visits to healthcare facilities and strengthen monitoring of service utilisation.
She said the digital solution would also support the effective implementation of the Free Primary Health Care programme by improving the Authority’s ability to authenticate beneficiaries and track healthcare services.
The increase in NHIS membership, coupled with measures to strengthen healthcare provider financing and digital authentication, forms part of ongoing efforts to expand access to affordable and quality healthcare across the country.
