The PHFAG says they are therefore forced to render services to patients who visit their facilities for their services under hardship.

They are threatening to begin cash and carry system for patients with the National Health Insurance Scheme because the national Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has refused to pay their claims.

The National General Secretary of the Private Health Facility Association of Ghana, Frank Torblu Richard made the revelations in an interview on the Sunrise show on 3FM

“Pharmaceutical companies have stopped giving us drugs on credit anymore because we owe them. We buy the medicine from them and we give it to the patients and we are not paid by NHIA for ten months”, he explained.

“95% or more of our revenue comes from the NHIA. The remaining 5% comes from the services we render that do not fall under the NHIS. Money comes to the facilities when the services rendered do not fall under the NHIS so we heavily depend on the NHIA,” he added.

Mr Torblu Richard explained that “it’s a straightforward game. We are required to be paid after we have submitted our claims to the NHIA but as we speak, claims submitted are in arrears since 2019. Some in 2020 and in the case of this year, some have been paid up to march, others no. How do providers survive?”

The National Secretary could give the quantum of debt owed by the NHIA but explained that “when we take individual facilities, some are owed GHS400,00, GHS500,00, GHS900,000 and some are even in millions”.

“There are 780 private health facilities that provide NHIS services across the country and all of these are owned by the NHIA.”

Source: myghanadaily