Patients holding the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will be turned down as private health insurance providers are demanding arrears covering six to eight month owed them by government.
Some health insurance providers say patients will seek health care if only they pay.
Since last year, service providers under the NHIS have been threatening to return to the ‘cash-and-carry’ system due to huge sums of arrears owed them.
According to them, the delay in the payment of claims was largely compromising the provision of quality health care across the country.
On February 13, this year, hospitals in the Volta Region threatened to return to the ‘cash-and-carry’ system if the NHIA did not pay money owed them within 30 days.
Again on February 27, the Upper East Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) hinted that the ‘cash-and-carry’ system was looming in the region and warned that hospitals would have no option but revert to the system in providing health care for their clients if the NHIA failed to settle its arrears.
Meanwhile, the government has directed the release of GH¢180 million for the payment of arrears owed health insurance providers.
The money is expected to clear part of the more than GH¢460 million owed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) service providers across the country.