The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, says there has been significant improvement in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under the current administration compared to the previous governments tenure.
According to him, during the National Democratic Congress administration eight years ago, the NHIS faced serious challenges, particularly in record-keeping and payment to service providers
Speaking on JoyNews AM Show, he noted instances where providers were owed for several months, leading to a decline in the acceptance of NHIS cards at hospitals.
“You will go to the hospital and be told that, the NHIS won’t be accepted. So people even abandoned it. The records are there. Where the usage, the patronage had gone down to just around 1.5 million. Today, what do we see? Astronomical increase in the patronage of health insurance because the system is in place to pay.”
“In spite of the challenges, we chalked some good success. And I am saying that, the fact that the patronage, the use, the reliance of the NHIS policy has increased should tell you that something good is happening there,” he said.
While acknowledging existing challenges within the NHIS, the Majority Leader stated that the current government has outperformed its predecessor in addressing these issues.
“I admit that we do not have a perfect system. But we have done better than we came to meet. That point must also be made. And I am saying that, if hospitals were complaining bitterly, you will go to a hospital and they turn you down because they say that government owes them several months and they are not paying, you should go back home.”
The Member of Parliament for Effutu urged voters to consider the progress made by the NPP when making decisions in the upcoming elections.
“It is important to remind those who are going to take a decision that, this man who claims that give me the chance, cannot do it better. It is important that we remind the decision makers that the alternative is scary. The alternative is worse” he noted.
Myjoyonline
