By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Nov 17, GNA – The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has organised a blood donation exercise in Tamale to help stock the blood bank in the Northern Region to be ready to serve the people at all times.
Hundreds of residents of Tamale including staff of NHIA visited the Regional Library, and Vittin Senior High School to take part in the exercise, which formed part of activities to mark the 20th Anniversary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Alhaji Hudu Issah, Director, Private Health Insurance Scheme, NHIA, who was in the region to monitor the exercise, described it as extremely impressive in view of the high turn-out at both places saying “We have hundreds of people donating blood at the two places. It tells you that we care about one another.”
Alhaji Issah spoke about innovations to ensure ease of subscription to the NHIS saying the NHIA had come out with digital platforms to help subscription to the NHIS with ease, adding the benefits packages were also being expanded to include childhood cancers amongst others.
He touched on some health facilities charging illegal fees, urging members of the public to speak against such practices to ensure that people were not denied services because of such illegal charges.
Mr Abdul Latif Issahaque, Northern Regional Director of NHIA expressed gratitude to the public for turning out in their numbers for the exercise, saying the high subscriptions to the NHIS and the number of people using NHIS at health facilities showed that there was high confidence in the NHIS.
He said the facilities engaging in collecting illegal charges from patients were being made to refund such fees, adding other sanctions would be applied to them to help stop such practices.
He said as of now, “no health facility can complain that it has not been paid by the NHIA” adding “If we pay you, you must render the services as required by our contract.”
GNA