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Health facilities in UWR charging illegal fees – NHIA
• Mr Samuel Lobber granting interview
Though clients have registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to derive its benefits, it is shocking to note that over 90 per cent of health facilities in the Upper West Region are involved in co-payment and charging of illegal fees from members.
The Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Samuel Lobber who revealed this said the worrying situation has caused clients to lose confidence in the scheme and had affected patronage of the scheme across the country.
“This problem is not peculiar to the Upper West Region; it is a national issue which is being tackled head-on by the Authority to ensure that we sanitize the system to improve clients’ confidence and patronage of the scheme”, he said.
Mr Lobber said this on the sidelines of an annual review meeting by the Authority in the region on the theme; “Sustaining our gains on Universal Health Care- a collective responsibility”.
The Director disclosed that the credentials of about five facilities apprehended by the authority in the region last year were withheld for a period and those said facilities were surcharged to pay some monies to the authority to serve as deterrent to others and restore sanity in the system.
He said the reinstatement of the facilities in December last year after they had agreed to suspend their illegal practices was enable them to serve their clients.
He mentioned that to resolve the issue which had become a source of worry for the authority, co-payment committees have been constituted at the national, regional and district levels to ensure that such incidents were promptly identified, investigated and dealt with.
This committee is being supported by a monitoring and evaluation team in the field where clients who go on community outreach and are presented with complains of charging of illegal charges are able to investigate and report to the office to the head office for clinical audit report”, he added.
Explaining the issue, the Director said illegal fees and co-payment referred to charges that were levied clients owned NHIS cards at health facilities, even though the scheme covered those fees.
He said after charging the clients and refusing them receipts, the facilities sent claims to the NHIA for payment again; leading to double payment for one service rendered.
He used the opportunity to commend residents for embracing the scheme and massively patronizing their services and said, their acceptance had led to the region’s attainment of the universal health coverage (UHC).
He advised clients to be more vigilant and ensure that they were not paying for services that were covered by the Scheme.
Members were taught how to check for drugs and services covered by the scheme.
He called on healthcare providers to stop charging illegal fees and make the health and wellbeing of their clients a topmost priority in order to save lives.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
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NHIA set to boost its cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in partnership with a leading private cybersecurity solutions provider in Ghana, CyberHawk Limited, is advancing the Authority’s digital infrastructure to ensure seamless operations.
This is to safeguard the Authority’s digital technologies and maintain the trust of active members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In this context, the NHIA Management Information System (MIS) Directorate in the Head Office, on February 11, 2024, launched a three-day brainstorming session on the organization’s cybersecurity enhancement agenda.
The MIS Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson explained that the collaborative meeting aimed to scrutinize the NHIA’s Information Technology architecture, identifying potential risks and gapsto enhance its cybersecurity posture.
“By leveraging CyberHawk Limited’s expertise, the NHIA seeks to fortify its defenses against cyber threats, protecting sensitive information and maintaining the trust of its members.”
Mr. Blankson applauded the synergy between the two organizations and underscored the Authority’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to drive its mission forward.
The Head of Information Security and Standards Unit, in the MIS Directorate, Mr. Ebenezer Hooper, highlighted the Authority’s significant milestone on the digital transformation journey.
According to him, the NHIA is actively engaged in fully adopting and implementing modern digital systems to improve its operations.
He said, “The three-day brainstorming meeting will culminate in the development of a robust IT infrastructure, as well as strategic plans to translate security implementations into tangible IT cost savings for the organization.”
“There is the need to form a steering committee or IT advisory committee, operated under the Board, so that they can pay more attention in protecting the huge IT investment while ensuring cyber security-related policies are well protected,” he added.
The Project Manager of CyberHawk Limited, Mr. Chetan Narayana Murthy, lauded the collaboration and anticipated that it would empower the NHIA to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
According to him, “This is a huge project that will greatly benefit the NHIA by implementing robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding their systems, and ultimately protecting the sensitive information of NHIA members and healthcare providers.”
A Senior Manager of IT infrastructure, Mr. David Asare Addo, and his colleague, a Senior Manager of Applications, Mr. Enock Afanyi, with the MIS Directorate, gave an overview of the NHIA’s current technological landscape.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Claims, Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), Research, Policy, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RPME), Corporate Affairs, the Audit, Administration, and Human Resource Directorates.
Story By : Vivian Arthur
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
