Fourteen of the Ghana Police Service’s satellite facilities are now enrolled with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The program is a component of initiatives meant to improve healthcare delivery and reduce costs.
It is anticipated that the registration would augment the hospital’s operating capabilities and augment its funding.
On September 12, 2024, a group from the Police Hospital met with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) team, which was led by Chief Executive Dr. DaCosta Aboagye. The delegation was headed by Medical Director COP Dr. Samuel Otu-Nyarko.
The meeting facilitated communication between the Police Hospital and the NHIA on joint efforts to improve the quality of services provided at the hospital.
Dr. Otu-Nyarko brought attention to the hospital’s restricted income flow and high operating costs as a result of its commitment to offer free treatment to police officers, their family, suspects, victims, prisoners, and unidentifiable individuals.
“The hospital is mandated to provide free healthcare to police personnel, their dependents, suspects, victims, convicts, and unidentified persons in need of healthcare, which has resulted in limited cash flow and high-cost operations.
“Because we are mandated to offer free healthcare to our personnel, most of them are not registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme and cannot benefit from the automatic absorption of all SSNIT contributors because the service is under CAP 30,” he said.
Dr. Otu-Nyarko highlighted other areas that put a strain on the hospital’s resources to include expenses related to quarterly mass burials, treatments for unidentified patients, and dialysis treatments.
“We serve 52 dialysis patients who take three sessions each per week, leading to annual costs of approximately GHc6.5 million. This facility not only caters to police personnel but also serves civilians who pay 600 cedis per session. The heavy financial strain on the hospital’s resources due to the cost of dialysis is huge.”
“These costs are currently being absorbed entirely by the police hospital and need support to lighten their burden and enhance health outcomes. The hospital would therefore want to collaborate with the NHIA to explore areas of support from the NHIA,” he said.
Dr. Aboagye explains the benefits of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and how it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the police service.
He applauded the efforts of the Police Hospital to register its 14 satellite facilities with the NHIS, which would increase funding for the hospital to boost its operational cost.
He also recommended the registration of all police personnel and their dependents with the NHIS to help cut down on the operational cost of the police hospital.
Dr. Aboagye assured the Police Hospital delegation of his support in facilitating and accelerating the delivery of that initiative.
He said that would enable the hospital to claim reimbursements under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Additionally, he suggested to the delegation to sign a private insurance scheme for police officers to cover the 5 percent of diseases not covered by the NHIS under primary healthcare.
Dr. Aboagye said that could be a top-up insurance program, which would be cheap and beneficial for police officers to also enhance their operational cost.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
