NHIA To Come Out With Two-Tier Scheme, Daily Graphic, Tue March 22, 2011 Front B

Story: Della Russel Ocloo

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) intends to merge the annual health insurance payment policy with the one-time payment to make the scheme a two-tier one under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The implementation of the combined scheme will see the two systems operate alongside each other.
According to NHIA officials, that arrangement would offer subscribers the opportunity to select a service that would best meet their financial strengths.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the decision to adopt the two-tier policy was taken after widespread consultations with stakeholders.
He said the NHIA had taken cognisance of the concerns being raised on the one-time policy and had come to the conclusion that the two-tier system would afford subscribers better options in accessing affordable health care.
He, however, declined for now to indicate how soon the new policy would take off, as well as the amounts payable by subscribers under both systems.
Mr Mensah, however, debunked suggestions that the government adopted the new approach as a result of its failure to make the one-time payment feasible, saying, “The social democratic status of the government led to the decision to combine both schemes after taking into consideration the varied opinions and concerns of stakeholders and the general public who are the recipients of these services.”