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Delay in the reimbursement of funds to hospitals by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has left healthcare institutions with no option but to prevent National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) subscribers from accessing healthcare from their facilities. The Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) at its general meeting recently threatened to prevent all its 183 member institutions from recognising the NHIS as a means of payment for healthcare services effective, July 2, 2014. The association took this decision due to the NHIA�s postponement in the payment of claims to service providers which has put health institutions into up to six months claims indebtedness. The Executive Director of CHAG, Dr Gilbert Buckle, addressing the press at the meeting said the delay in payment of NHIA claims and low tariffs of medicines and services were having negative impacts on hospitals and clinics, making them unable to pay salaries of non-mechanised staff. He said health facilities are unable to take care of patients because of the shortage of essential drugs, medical and surgical supplies. �We are not able to give them the medicines we prescribe, patients come to us under emergency situations and we have to send relatives out of the hospitals to buy medicines and other inputs�and the key issue is the National Health Insurance,� he said. Dr Buckle said as a result, hospitals are resorting to pay bank overdraft facilities for funding of essential medical supplies against unfavourable bank interest rates, leading to an increment of health services cost with many of its member institutions managers being harassed and threatened with court actions by their creditors. According to Dr Buckle, �The association has applied all means to finding solutions to the challenges of the NHIA and the adverse effect it is having on the provision of quality healthcare by holding several meetings with officials of NHIA, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning with regards to delay in payment, capitation, low tariffs of drugs and lack of binding service-provider contract arrangement since 2012; however, no positive gains have been recorded.� Dr Buckle clarified that before they signed onto the NHIS, health services in their hospitals and respective clinics �were of the highest quality and we could finance our cost of services.� The Communications Manager of the NHIA, Selorm Adonoo, in an interview with an Accra- based radio station admitted that due to the central system of operations of the NHIA, funds for service providers under the scheme are sometimes delayed. He also stated that the Authority has been in talks with CHAG and their concerns would be addressed before the July 2 deadline given.