The National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) allocation of 2 million cedis to cover the cost of treatment for liver and heart diseases has been criticized as inadequate by the Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.
According to Akandoh, the allocation was only made after the Health Committee threatened not to approve the NHIA’s budget, and is politically motivated to sway public opinion.
He noted that the 2 million cedis will not be enough to cater for the increasing number of patients seeking treatment for these diseases over the next six months.
Akandoh called for stakeholders to engage in discussions to address the concerns and find a more sustainable solution.
He also revealed that the Health Committee had previously met with the NHIA, the Controller and Accountant General, and the Health and Finance Ministries to address the delay in payment of 2.4 billion cedis owed to the NHIA between July 2023 and February 2024.
The committee recommended that the payment be made without further delay.
