NHIC says it is not to blame for delay in processing ID cards

The Executive Secretary of the Health Insurance Council (NHIC), Mr. Ras Boateng says his outfit cannot be blamed alone for the delay in issuing ID cards to members of the public who register with the scheme.Mr. Boateng therefore urged the public to make use of the complaint mechanism at the secretariat to have their concerns addressed. Due to the decentralized nature of the scheme, NHIS is facing challenges in implementation, particularly the issuance of identity cards, with NHIC taking a chunk of the blame. But the council insists it cannot take all the blame, arguing that it is only a regulator. Mr. Boateng explained that since this is the first time the country is implementing the scheme there are bound to be constraints which the council is trying to sort out. Mr. Boateng stated these at a press briefing in Accra following incessant media criticisms about the implementation of the programme. According to him in assessing the performance of the scheme against others in other parts of the world, it has achieved some successes with about 40% having registered. A total of 7, 673,998 representing 38% of the population are said to have been registered with the district health insurance schemes. “We are working in an environment that is difficult by any measure. I can assure you that we are making progress. Periodically, we organize meetings like this to enlighten people on where we are”, he said. Reacting to claims that some service providers give priority to cash holders against card holders, Mr. Boateng explained that the council has the power to withdraw the accreditation of any service provider that violates the law. “We do not force any service provider to seek accreditation so once you apply for it, then you must go by the law.”He encouraged people to make maximum use of the complaint mechanism so that those who cheat can be investigated and punished. Mr. Boateng announced that in a bid to clear the backlog of ID cards in Accra it has engaged some IT personnel to sort them out and collate the names by computer. When this is completed, the names of the owners will be published in the media and special desks set up at the scheme offices in Accra where people can collect their cards.