Pay us 7 months arrears by June 7 or face our wrath – Private Health facilities to Govt
The Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana working under the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) has served notice to stop accepting patients with NHIS cards if the government fails to pay their 7 months arrears by June 7, 2024.
Speaking to Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang on New York-based Adinkra Radio, the Vice President of the Private Health Facilities Association, Dr. Samuel Boakye Donkor said members are so much indebted due to government’s failure to pay them since October 2023, and can no more continue to incur more debts.
“We are serving notice that if the government does not pay us seven months arrears by June 7, we’ll discontinue attending to patients with NHIS cards. We’ll be forced to adopt cash and carry system.
“How do we buy medicines and pay for utilities that are essential for the operations of our facilities. The government has for the past four years not increased the amount of money it pays to private health facilities but price of drugs has shot up by 60%. Now, companies which supply us with drugs have refused to supply us because we are owing huge sums of money. The Cedi to the Dollar exchange rate is not also helping matters and has caused increase in prices of drugs as most of the quality drugs are imported and one will need a lot of dollars to import them.”
Dr. Samuel Boakye Donkor further stated that because the items they use in the health facilities are dispensable and disposable, they don’t have a choice but to buy new items but they have no money to buy these stuffs because they have not been paid.
He said what is annoying and frustrating is that though government has not paid them, SSNIT and GRA are always on their neck demanding that they pay staffs SSNIT contribution and tax failure which they are dragged to court for prosecution.
“We’ve contracted loans and over drafts from banks. We are so much indebted to the banks, drugs suppliers, and SSNIT. How do we function. We need our money to pay staff. What is so sad and hurting is that sometimes an emergency case arrives at the hospital and you know you have the knowledge it takes to save the patient but because we don’t have the requisite items to work with, we sadly have to look on for the person to die. This is so bad, but it is not our doing. The government must act now by paying us, before matters get worse. Those who lend us drugs say they will not supply us anymore. Some health facility owners are shutting down their facilities. From 7th of June, we can’t work with any NHIS bearer again,” Dr. Samuel Boakye Donkor stated.
Source: Adinkraradio.com