The Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Samuel Annor, has announced that some subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will by the end of the year have the opportunity to renew their membership electronically using their mobile phones.
Dr. Annor said his outfit will ensure that issues of unauthorized charges at the NHIS health facilities are stalled.
He disclosed this on Wednesday, October 31 when he paid a working visit to the Authority’s Ayawaso District office in Accra.
About 400 subscribers of the NHIS throng the district office on daily basis to either register or renew their membership.
The numbers have, however, been inundating.
Dr. Annor said no facility was to charge any NHIS member fees for service delivery at the primary healthcare facility nationwide.
This, according to him, necessitated the introduction of the electronic renewal.
It is expected to relieve members of the long hours they spend at the district offices to have their cards renewed.
An electronic renewal system is currently being piloted in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region and West Mamprusi District in the Northern Region.
It is expected to be rolled out by the end of the year.
The process requires a mobile application to generate a code and payments are done via mobile money.
Dr. Annor also revealed that to streamline fees charged NHIS members at the primary healthcare facilities across the country, a restricted universal healthcare will be rolled out by the Authority to curb unplanned cost incurred while accessing healthcare.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana