The Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Victor Bampoe, has issued a stern warning that any staff member found colluding with healthcare service providers to defraud National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) subscribers will be dismissed and prosecuted.
He stressed that the Authority would not tolerate any form of internal collusion that threatens the sustainability of the scheme.
Dr. Bampoe also expressed concern over the continued practice of charging NHIS members illegal out-of-pocket fees at health facilities, describing it as a violation of the scheme’s core purpose of providing financial protection and access to healthcare.
He made the remarks at the commissioning of a new NHIS District Office complex in Ejura in the Ashanti Region, an initiative expected to bring services closer to residents and improve access to the scheme.
Dr. Bampoe said the government had committed more resources to the NHIS than ever before and was ensuring timely payment of claims to accredited healthcare facilities. He therefore described it as troubling that patients continued to face additional charges at health facilities.
He questioned why some providers continued to demand payment from NHIS members for services already covered under the scheme’s benefits package.
“I have never seen the country invest so much in the National Health Insurance Scheme. I am saddened and worried that after all this money being paid to the health facility, they tell the people seeking their services that certain services are not covered by the NHIS. Where does this leave us?” Dr. Bampoe said.
He cautioned that any NHIA staff member found involved in facilitating or supporting such unlawful charges would face strict disciplinary action.
“I have been put in charge of the NHIS, so I am telling you that if found complicit in this, I will send you straight home plus whatever sanction and prosecution. Our brothers in the health facilities, we have the right to sanction you, and my Regional Director is aware,” he cautioned.
Dr. Bampoe said the Authority was intensifying its monitoring and enforcement measures to safeguard NHIS subscribers’ rights and strengthen public trust in the scheme.
