Any staff caught conniving with service providers to rob NHIS subscribers will be dismissed and prosecuted – NHIA CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Victor Bampoe, has warned that any staff of the Authority caught conniving with service providers to defraud National Health Insurance Scheme subscribers will face outright dismissal and prosecution.

He said the Authority will not tolerate internal collusion that undermines the sustainability of the scheme.

Dr. Bampoe described the continued cases of illegal out-of-pocket payments charged to NHIS members at health facilities, a practice he said defeats the entire purpose of the health insurance scheme.

He made the statement during the commissioning of a new NHIS District Office complex at Ejura in the Ashanti Region, aimed at improving access to services in the area.

According to him, the government has invested heavily in the scheme more than ever before, ensuring prompt payment of claims to credentialed health facilities, and it is worrying that patients are still being made to pay.

He questioned the justification for facilities to charge clients for services that are fully covered under the NHIS benefits package.

"I have never seen the country invest so much in the National Health Insurance Scheme. I am saddened and worried that after all this money being paid to the health facility, they tell the people seeking their services that certain services are not covered by the NHIS. Where does this leave us?" Dr. Bampoe said.

He warned that any NHIA staff found complicit in such illegal payments will be dealt with decisively.

"I have been put in charge of the NHIS, so I am telling you that if found complicit in this, I will send you straight home plus whatever sanction and prosecution. Our brothers in the health facilities, we have the right to sanction you, and my Regional Director is aware," he cautioned.

Dr. Bampoe assured members of the public that the Authority is strengthening its monitoring and enforcement systems to protect subscribers and preserve public confidence in the scheme.