The Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Dacosta Aboagye, has rejected claims that the authority is bankrupt.
Highlighting the NHIA’s robust financial position, Dr. Aboagye indicated that the authority pays out between GH₵180 million and GH₵250 million monthly.
According to him, such a level of expenditure would not be possible if the NHIA were indeed bankrupt.
“It can never be bankrupt; a scheme paying between one-hundred-and-eighty and two-hundred-and-fifty million can never be bankrupt, but there is also the case that the Ministry of Finance should release the funds to the NHIS: once we have a constant release, then we would not have problems, and it is sustainable,” he stated.
Responding to a question about how often the Finance Ministry releases funds for its operations, Dr. Aboagye stated, “I was conferred about some few weeks ago, but I think…… we are waiting for them to do the releases, but I think they will; the Minister has actually assured me that.
“I think social protection is very important; we cannot put the vulnerable in distress, and I believe that the Ministry of Finance would do the needful by releasing the funds to us. I have no doubt, obviously to doubt. I do not have any doubt that they would obviously release the funds to us to make the payments,” he said on Joy News.
He was elaborating on the NHIA’s capacity to add dialysis treatment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
According to the NHIA CEO, the support will be implemented over six months.
This move follows parliament’s approval of GH₵2 million to assist patients requiring dialysis in various parts of the country.
Explaining the modality of implementation, Dr Aboagye said that the authority would cover two sessions for each of these patients, who total about 600, from June to the last day of December in the year.