Okoe Boye Identifies Real Challenge Facing NHIS

Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Hon Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye says the real challenge that confronts the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has to do with structures.

According to him, various government regimes beginning from former President John Agyekum Kuffuor who implemented the scheme to the current government have all suffered similar problems.

Contributing to a panel discussion on the alleged collapse of the NHIS by the minority on the Good Morning Ghana show, Dr. Okoe Boye said “to be honest with you, there is a real challenge; we don’t want to be going back and forth. There is a substantive challenge that the authority has. Because of the history of that challenge, I see it to be a structural challenge”.

He alleged that not all the money that are collected in the name of the NHIA is released to the authority for its operationalization. For this reason he says various Chief Executive Officers of the scheme including Sylvester Mensah under former President John Mahama have all had issues with the Finance Minister of the time about the release of the NHIS Funds.

“Sylvester Mensah had that challenge when Seth Terkpeh was the Finance Minister, Baah Wiredu had that challenge when Osafo Marfo was there, and people had that challenge when Duffuor was there. And the challenge is that the moneys that are collected in the name of the NHIA not all goes to the NHIA”.

The former Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku in the Greater Accra Region is proposing a stakeholders engagement to come out with a workable approach that will be accepted and respected by regimes all to avoid the situation where Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA will be chasing Finance Ministers for their Funds.

“My approach to this issue is that, how do we all stakeholders, political parties, people in the health sector, civil society, the ordinary citizen, the church how do we all come together and find a rendition which largely will be respected by subsequent regimes starting from now?”.

Source: Opemsuo.com/ Kwabena Kyeremateng Addo