Residents of the Pru East District in the Bono East Region are gradually losing confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) due to the growing practice of co-payment introduced by some healthcare providers.
The District Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Pru East, Alhaji Taminu Ahmed, raised this concern during the authority’s 2024 Annual Performance Review Meeting.
He explained that the demand for co-payments—where patients are asked to pay additional fees despite holding valid NHIS cards—is discouraging many from using the scheme.
According to Alhaji Taminu, this practice has led to increasing mistrust among residents, many of whom now prefer paying out-of-pocket for healthcare in order to receive better treatment, rather than relying on their NHIS cards and still being asked to pay extra.
He emphasized that the trend undermines the purpose of the health insurance policy, which was introduced to ensure equitable access to healthcare services without financial hardship.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Pru East, Emmanuel Kweku Boam, who was also present at the review meeting, urged Mathias Hospital and other service providers in the district to improve their healthcare delivery, particularly for NHIS subscribers.
He noted that the issue of co-payment is a major barrier preventing many people from seeking medical attention and called for urgent action to restore public trust in the scheme.
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