The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has released an amount of GH¢22,712,401.17 to clear part of arrears to service providers in the Volta Region.
The delay in the payment of five months arrears had affected the smooth roll-out of capitation, an additional payment system under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the region.
The Volta, Upper West and Upper East regions are the three regions benefiting from the first phase of the nationwide scale- up after the pilot in the Ashanti Region in 2012.
The amount so far released would cater for the debt from September to December last year and also prepare the grounds for the new payment system to come into force.
In a release issued in Ho which was signed by the Volta Regional Public Relations Officer of the NHIA, Mr Charles Agbesi, stated that the implementation process of capitation had been ongoing since February last year.
It said currently enrolment officers were being trained as part of the implementation process.
Trainings The statement said major players such as district health directors, administrators, health information officers, public health nurses, health providers and staff from district health directorates had since been prepared adequately to ensure a successful roll-out in the region.
‘’So far 35 separate community durbars have been held across the region to educate the public on the additional payment system and its benefits,’’ it said.
The release further indicated that participants in the various durbars were informed about disease conditions that were going to be paid for under the capitation and also schooled on how to choose a preferred primary provider (PPP) and the enrolment process.
‘’They were also equipped with information concerning the process of obtaining transfers and treatment under emergency,’’ the release added.
Meanwhile some traditional leaders, including the Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Area, Togbe Amenya Adzongor-Fiti V, the Paramount Chief of Akpini (Kpando) Traditional Area, Togbe Dagadu VIII, and Togbe Adzadeko V of Logba-Alakpeti, have pledged to continue the education in their various jurisdictions to make the policy a success.
Capitation Capitation is an advance pre-determined fixed rate paid to health service providers to provide a defined set of services for each NHIS subscriber enrolled with the PPP for a fixed period of time.
This payment method was introduced in 2012 on a pilot basis and is currently being scaled up across the country.
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