The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has paid 1.2 billion Ghana cedis , clearing the debt connected with Claims payments to credentialled healthcare providers.
The Chief Executive, Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye brought this to the fore at the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), 66th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in the Volta Regional capital, Ho.
The event which was under the theme, “Fostering Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Professionalism in Ghana’s Health Sector,” brought together medical professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss the future of healthcare in Ghana.
The theme reflected a broader agenda to integrate modern technological advancements and entrepreneurship into healthcare delivery, which, according to the GMA, are essential for advancing health outcomes.
According to Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye, the government has been proactive in ensuring that all submitted and vetted Claims are paid on time.
“When the New Patriotic Party assumed power in 2017, we met a debt of over ghc1.2 billion, which was equivalent to our total budgets. As we speak, that debt has actually been cleared and we have more recently made an unprecedented payments in our 20-year history, bringing comfort to our facilities and patients.”
Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye said the rapid payments aim to eliminate the financial pressures that warrant illegal charges for services covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He highlighted key initiatives such as expansion of the NHIS Benefit Package encompassing promotive and preventive health, Annual Health checks, the four new mental health conditions, the E-Pharmacy Platform, NHIS and Ghana Cards for children aged 6-14, mandatory health insurance for all visitors to Ghana and Telehealth Services.
“These initiatives demonstrate the NHIA’s commitment to improving Ghana’s healthcare system and providing accessible, quality healthcare services to the citizens and more of these initiatives have been incorporated into the NPP’s 2025 project.”
He talked about tariff reviews saying, “The process is ongoing. We just want to get it right in such a way that once we increase the tariffs, the pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders will have no option.”
“So, we have finished the process, we will seek Parliamentary approval. Our legislative instrument is also ready. We will actually present it to Parliament to get that back in such a way that we use that as a tool to manage co-payments. I want to assure you that the NHIS is under an upgrade trajectory, and we need your support.”
The Health Minister, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, commended the Authority for finding bold solutions to the NHIS challenges and reiterated government’s commitment to leverage digitalization in streamlining healthcare administration and patient care.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, stated “My outfit is deepening the implementation of the NHIA-Claim IT platform to allow for easy generation and solution of NHIA Claims.”
“The ministry is also remodeling about 400 health centers into modern health centers with telemedicine capabilities in line with the NHIA’s Telehealth project to enhance healthcare delivery at the primary health level.”
The Vice-Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, emphasized the importance of innovation in healthcare delivery.
He underscored the role of a technology-driven healthcare system in achieving the NPP’s goals of economic growth and improved quality of life of all residents in Ghana.
Source: Vivian Arthur
