The Deputy Minister-designate for Health, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, told Parliament’s Appointments Committee that there is still public confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The NHIS has come under scrutiny following several complaints by beneficiaries.
JoyNews’ ongoing series on the NHIS has confirmed some of these complaints of patients, including out-of-pocket payments for various services at health facilities.
The matter came up strongly at the vetting of Dr Acquah when he appeared before the committee on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
But he insisted that despite the challenges, there is high confidence in the scheme.
“I have seen people driving Range Rovers, they will come to facilities using health insurance and after they have been put to bed, they will request for private ward and pay for it. It means that such a person is benefiting from health insurance, using health insurance to have access to the facility, but when it comes to treatment, because perhaps he is a bourgeois, he pays to be in a private ward.
“It means that the confidence in health insurance is high. There are people who believe in it so at any point in time they have it and they take it to the various hospitals,” he explained.
The Minister-designate further promised to advocate for de-capping to ensure sufficient funding for the NHIS.