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The Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has described as �criminal� the government�s blatant refusal to release funds for the operations of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which according to the group, is almost on its knees. The Minority caucus, which made the observation at a press conference in Parliament yesterday to draw government�s attention to the enormous harm its insensitivity is causing the fortunes of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), said under the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), membership of the scheme had drastically reduced from 65 percent to 35 percent because �many Ghanaians now don�t have trust in the NHIS.� The NPP said currently, the NHIA owes service providers a staggering GH�213.2 million which had compelled many providers to threaten to pull out of the scheme and resort to �cash and carry� as recently announced by the Christian Health Association of Ghana. �The immediate past Minister of Health on June 2, 2014, wrote an official letter to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning indicating to him that health providers are not able to provide the needed health services to the people of Ghana, and many have threatened to withdraw their services as a result of the nonpayment of statutory health insurance fund,� according to the NPP MP for Dormaa East, William Kwasi Sabi, who addressed the media. In attendance were the Minority leader, Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu; NPP MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who is a Member of the Health Committee in Parliament and other Minority MPs. The Minority said it is mandatory for the government to release funds to the NHIA for its operations as stipulated in the NHIS Law, Act 852 Section 52, where NHIS levies are collected together with Social Security and National Insurance (SSNIT) contributions for such payments. �If President Mahama could raise $3 million and ferry it in �Rambo style� to the Black Stars in Brazil, why can�t he do same for our health needs which underpin the country�s productivity?� the Minority queried. Members of the group indicated that the effect of the commissions and omissions of this government is the destruction of all the good social interventions such as the NHIS, school feeding programme, cocoa mass spraying exercise, capitation grant and the National Youth Employment Programme (now christened GYEEDA) introduced by the NPP government under President J A Kufuor, to benefit Ghanaians, especially the underprivileged in society. The Minority therefore called on the government not to toy with the health of Ghanaians and immediately release the NHIS money for the people to benefit from it.