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The aL-hAJJ’s investigation has uncovered how some unpatriotic nurses and health workers across the country have devised a new strategy to deny the National Health Insurance Authority of valuable and badly needed revenue.

While managers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and stakeholders in the health sector are lamenting on the need to generate more revenue to sustain Ghana’s boldest social protection initiative, these “enemies of the state” without any sense of patriotism and shame, have made it their stock in trade to fleece the scheme which is already in dire financial situation.

The modus operandi of these dishonest health workers is such that in order to save themselves, their relatives and/or friends from the financial burden of contributing to the scheme as required by law, they forge Ante-natal Cards (ANC), bogus laboratory results and falsify doctor’s certification to indicate they are pregnant and are therefore, automatically qualified for exemption.

In essence, while health workers on government pay roll who are also contributors to Social Security and National Insurance Trust are required by law to only pay a meager amount as processing fee for an NHIA card, casual workers, trainee nurses doing their attachment at various hospitals, their family members and friends of these health personnel are usual issued with fake ANC to enable them acquire free NHIA cards.

This criminal conduct, which, although also happens in the urban centers, is prevalent in rural and peri-urban areas where strict rules governing such exemptions cannot be enforced due to technical and logistical challenges.

For example, among proof required for exemption for pregnant women includes confirmed laboratory test, scanning, certified doctor’s report and ante-natal card. But, some of these requirements are difficult to obtain especially, in some districts and rural areas.

The aL-hAJJ has gathered from managers of NHIA that this wicked plot is causing the scheme to lose millions of Ghana cedis.

This development, a senior official at NHIA who does not want his identity disclosed, revealed is also contributing to the financial malaise the scheme has suffered over the years.
In Ghana pregnant women, children under five years, oldies above 70 and indigents and contributors to SSNIT are exempted from health insurance premium.

As a result, some nurses and health workers across the country are taking advantage of this to deny the scheme of the badly needed revenue with the issuance of forge ANC and doctor’s certification, fake lab results and scan for their relatives, friends and even outsiders.