Pharmacy Chamber To Withdraw Services

The Ghana Chamber of Pharmacy has threatened to stop supplying medicines to hospitals working with the National Health Insurance Scheme. The chamber is demanding all arrears owed its members by February 10, 2014. A statement signed by the Head of Research and Advocacy, Stanley Adjei said: �Whereas some of the hospitals are in arrears since July 2013, most of the hospitals are in arrears since May 2013�. According to the statement, �the inordinate delay in the reimbursement by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is impacting negatively on the financial strength as well as the survival of the distributors�. The Chamber bewailed that: �Our members have resorted to borrowing from the banks at 30 per cent interest rates and sometimes from microfinance institutions at interest rate of 5 per cent per month in order to bridge the funding gap and sustain supplies to the hospitals�. The statement said members of the Chamber have been funding the health insurance scheme at a great cost to them, a situation that is hurting their business relationship with their suppliers, bankers and other partners. It said: �on account of this difficulty, we are suspending further drug supplies to health service providers under the NHIS effective 10 February, 2014�.