TIG Post

Tag: Dr. Okoe Boye

  • NHIA boss cautions healthcare providers charging illegal fees

    The decision to remove the licences of qualified healthcare practitioners who charge unlawful fees, according to NHIA Chief Executive Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, is not negotiable.

    He believes it is inappropriate to expect additional funds from NHIS members at the time of need because the NHIA already pays 1.5 billion cedis to healthcare providers each year for claims submitted to the Authority.

    He underscored that no healthcare professional found acting recklessly would escape punishment.

    “We are making sure our members are properly taken care of. We are ready to revoke the credentials of healthcare facilities who make extra monetary demands from our members with impunity,” he said.

    Dr. Okoe-Boye expressed his misgivings at a meeting with the Upper East Regional Minister on December 1, 2022.

    Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu commended the bond between the NHIA executive management and the governing board.

    He said the people of the northern belt have largely been beneficiaries of the NHIS because it is pro-poor focused.

    The Regional Minister described as enormous the NHIA’s recent innovations such as the Mobile Renewal platform and the Ghana card and NHIS card linkage.

    As part of the visit, Dr. Okoe-Boye paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Paga traditional area where he stated, “We trust that our revered father, the Pagapio will go on with his blessings and good counselling to enable the NHIA make progress in ensuring that all residents in Ghana are covered by the NHIS.”

    “We encourage the entire population in Kassena Nankana to enroll onto the Scheme to access affordable and quality healthcare.”

    He said it would soon be possible for all residents in Ghana and beyond to register onto the NHIS via online through a digital platform yet to be officially launched by the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in Tamale.

    He underscored the need for NHIS members to periodically renew their membership using the dedicated short code *929#.

    The Pagapio, Pe Pwanalunga-Charles Awiah Awampaga II applauded the NHIA’s executive management and the Governing Board for touching base with him.

    He made a firm pledge to help the NHIA succeed in increasing the NHIS active membership in his traditional area.

    The Pagapio made a passionate appeal to Dr. Okoe Boye and the Governing Board to open an additional office in the area.

    The team visited the NHIS Navrongo district office and also interacted with staff who talked about their achievements and challenges.

    The NHIA Chief Executive on November 28,2022 embarked on a working visit to the northern belt comprising the Northern, North East, Savannah and Upper East regions, except the Upper West region.

    The nationwide working tour was to interface with major stakeholders including traditional leaders, administrative heads and staff of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    He is being accompanied by some NHIA Board members and Directors, among others.

  • Decision by Pharmaceutical Companies to stop supply on credit harsh – Dr Okoe Boye

    Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, has described as harsh, the decision by the three major pharmaceutical industries to stop the supply of drugs and medications to all health facilities.

    He said, even though their demands for tariff adjustments were legitimate, their resolve to stop outright supply on credit basis was harsh and would have dire consequences on health delivery across the country.

    The Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Association of Ghana and the Pharmaceutical Importers and Wholesalers Association of Ghana announced their decision at a press conference last Thursday.

    Dr Okoe Boye said the group should have engaged the Ministry of Health (MoH) to find an amicable solution to the issue.

    “When you have an agreement with a partner, the best thing to do is to come back to the negotiation table,” he said.

    “I think the approach is very harsh, but as stakeholders we need to be patient and tolerant,” he added.

    Dr Okoe Boye said, as much as the NHIA sympathises with the situation, it does not directly engage in the policy framework that determines tariff adjustments for the suppliers.

    He said the Ministry of Health, based on negotiations with suppliers, determines tariff for each drug, which the authority works with.

    Dr Okoe Boye therefore urged the suppliers to reconsider the decision and said the MoH was meeting the pharmaceutical companies to find an alternative resolution to the situation.

    He expressed hope that the meeting would produce fruitful results.

    He said the NHIA was doing its best to ensure that arrears owed suppliers were paid.

    Source: GNA

  • NHIA engages stakeholders over unapproved charges

    The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has met with stakeholders, including accredited health service providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to discuss the rising trend of out-of-pocket payments required of members at health facilities.

    Out-of-pocket expenses are payments made with your own money for medical care that are not reimbursed by insurance.

    The unapproved charges, also known as co-payments, are a violation of the Act 852 statute and the NHIA’s contract with accredited healthcare service providers, according to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

    Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, who expressed his concerns while addressing the media in Accra, said the practice was seriously threatening to setback progress made by the scheme.

    He was not happy with the fact that co-payment had assumed precedence in healthcare facilities across the country, where it was becoming the norm.

    He claimed that this undermined not only the government’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage as established by a law passed by Parliament in 2003, but also those of healthcare providers and consumers.

    “We owe it as a duty to ourselves, our people, and posterity to ensure the success of the Scheme, a goal we have all fortunately committed to as stakeholders. 

    “There have been significant improvements in utilization and access to healthcare, with over 90 per cent of OPD attendance in public institutions and 70 per cent in credentialed private health institutions being members of the scheme”, Dr Okoe-Boye mentioned.

    He pointed out once more that the scheme’s operational changes had allowed for monthly service and claim submissions in excess of GHC 120 million.

    He said, however, it was disturbing to receive daily complaints from the members of the scheme that healthcare providers had unilaterally resorted to demanding out-of-pocket payments and extra charges for services and medicines covered by the scheme.

    He observed that the phenomenon was making the National Health Insurance Scheme unpopular.

    “The Authority receives several cases of co-payments on a daily basis through the call centre and from the districts, and regions across the country. Every 6 out of 10 calls received at our call centre are related to co-payments, including the very unpleasant cases of NHIS members detained by some providers over extra payment demands”, he disclosed.

    He also disclosed that a survey on co-payments conducted by the research directorate of the Authority revealed that the menace was pervasive across the regions and healthcare provider types with no exceptions.

    “At the tertiary and secondary care levels, NHIS members are made to pay for most services, including all laboratory investigations, and about 80 per cent of medications prescribed. Whereas at the primary care level, apart from blood film for malaria, all other laboratory investigations and about 50 per cent of medications prescribed are paid for by members in addition to other services”, he revealed.

    He, however, expressed worry that the practice by the healthcare providers defeated the mandate of the Authority and the Scheme, thereby negatively impacting its operations and making it unattractive to the public.

    Dr. Okoe-Boye further said that the stakeholders’ engagement was a step by the Authority to engage and allow for a dispassionate deliberation on the issue and proffer long-lasting binding solutions to the menace for the betterment of the scheme towards the attainment of the universal health coverage as envisioned by the government and the people of Ghana.

    The National Health Insurance Scheme was established by the government of Ghana in 2003. The program was a form of national health insurance established to provide equitable access and financial coverage for basic health care services to Ghanaians. 

    The Scheme, in its 19-year journey, has undergone several policy and operational reforms through stakeholder engagement and consensus building to improve efficiency, enhance the quality of healthcare, and to ensure sustainability.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Politics is killing Ghana – Dr. Okoe-Boye

    Dr. Okoe-Boye, the Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority and a former Deputy Minister of Health, has issued a warning against the politicking of national concerns in the nation.

    He emphasised that many outstanding ideas and projects have been undermined because of politics and that politicising matters does not help the economy.

    He alluded to an incident where his fellow Member of Parliament on the Minority side joined his colleagues to kick against President Nana Addo’s request for MMDCEs to be appointed via elections, and explained his reason being that they support the policy will help the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to be retained in power.

    “As a country, we have to be real to ourselves. If you want your environment to develop, stop this [faddy] partisan politics when it comes to critical matters,” Dr. Okoe-Boye said on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” programme.

    He advised the MPs and government officials as well as all politicians to let national interest override their political allegiances.