The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has been unable to reach its half-year revenue mobilization target.
The Authority says it has been able to only realize 27 percent of it’s half-year target.
Speaking to the media at Wa, the Upper West Regional Director of the NHIA, Samuel Lobber intimated that due to the extreme cases of poverty in the region, people are unable to pay for subscription unto the service.
Mr Lobber said as at June this year, some 32 thousand persons were put into the scheme for free.
These persons include beneficiaries of the LEAP Programme, children under the Ghana School Feeding Programme and pregnant women who are unable to afford the Service at the time of delivery or Antenatal Visits.
“As a region, people who have not paid to register onto the scheme, we have done 32 thousand of such people. We have given them access to healthcare without taking a cedi. Having seen how we have performed, it will tell you that as a region, we are not performing well. People cannot afford to pay the fees, we are not doing so well in terms of revenue mobilisation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Authority is priding itself for being the lead organization in incorporating technology and digital services in serving clients across the country.
Mr. Lobber said the Mobile Renewal Service has become the primary source for renewals in the region and has led to the decongestion of NHIA offices.
“The NHIA is always doing everything possible when it comes to showing the way in using technology to address the challenges facing us. When we factored into consideration the feedback we were getting and we thought that technology was the way to go so that no body struggled to renew his or her card, ” he said.
He said the Mobile Renewal Service was particularly helpful during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Lobber was however worried that due to poor mobile service connectivity, persons in rural areas are unable to access the service.
Mr Lobber was optimistic that the mobile service would continue to provide relief to their clients.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith| Ghana
