The governing New Patriotic Party in the Upper East Region has dismissed claims by former president, John Dramani Mahama that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has collapsed.
Addressing delegates of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) during his recent tour of the region, Mr. Mahama who is campaigning to lead the NDC again, told the gathering that the NHIS is no longer functional and that people seeking healthcare are compelled to make upfront payment before they are attended due to government’s indebtedness to service providers.
This, he assured, will be addressed if he is given the mandate to lead the opposition party and eventually, become the country’s president again.
But in a statement singed by its regional Communication Director, Peter Ayinbisa and dated May 4, 2023, the governing party dismissed the claim by the former leader of the country as untrue.
The party maintained that its government rather revived the scheme when it took over the reigns of governance in 2017 and have ensured its efficient management and expansion to cover more illnesses which treatment hitherto was not taken care of by the scheme.
“ It is worth noting that under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s leadership, the NHIS has been revitalized and now covers some 95% of diseases in Ghana. In fact, the NHIS has made significant strides in recent times, including the addition of childhood cancer to the list of diseases covered by the scheme”.
Highlighting what it claims are significant innovation and technological advancement in the running of the scheme, the NPP said the scheme has been made more accessible to Ghanaians and its services improved remarkably as result of the government’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance service delivery.
It added that the government has introduced an electronic claim system which has ensured that reimbursements to service providers are made on time.
“The introduction of the Electronic Claims System is also a significant innovation that has revolutionized the NHIS reimbursement process. The system has reduced the processing time for claims, ensuring that healthcare providers receive their payments promptly, and making it easier for Ghanaians to access quality healthcare services”.
This, it indicated, was not the case under the erstwhile NDC administration led Mr. Mahama.
It is, therefore, surprising to the NPP in the region that “Mr. Mahama, who presided over a weak and dysfunctional NHIS during his tenure, would have the audacity to criticize the significant improvements made by the NPP government in strengthening and expanding the scheme”.
