The Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mrs Louisa Atta-Agyemang, on 28 March 2024, rounded up a three-day working visit to the Greater Accra, Volta and Oti Regions.

She ended the tour in the Kpando Municipality of the Volta Region where she expressed satisfaction with the limited rollout of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Biometric Membership Authentication System (BMAS).

The working visit was a follow-up monitoring of the BMAS project piloted in some selected 40 credentialed healthcare provider sites nationwide.

She visited the Dangme West Community Complex Medical, Ayikuma CHPS compound, Tapa Amanya CHPS compound, Jasico College Clinic, Kitikpa Community Clinic Hohoe and Hohoe Adabraka Health Centre where the limited rollout of the Biometric Membership Authentication System is ongoing.

The ultimate goal of the BMAS limited rollout is to test how the system will function in urban and rural settings as far as network connectivity and systems performance are concerned.

A complete rollout of the BMAS by mid-May, 2024 will ensure the development of accurate reimbursable Claims submitted for healthcare services rendered to NHIS members.

The BMAS is spearheaded by the NHIA MIS Directorate in collaboration with Margins Ghana Limited and the Project Director is the Ag. Director, MIS, Daniel Blankson with the Ag. Deputy Director, Business Systems, MIS, Joe Annor-Darkwah as the Project Coordinator.

Staff engagements

The visit also allowed Mrs. Atta-Agyemang to interact with and hear directly from NHIS district management teams and their expectations from Executive Management.

She acknowledged the hard work of the NHIS district management teams and the frontline staff saying, "Let's lift the NHIS to an enviable position."

She emphasised that staff loyalty wouldn't go unnoticed and reassured them of Executive Management's determination to address some of their operational challenges. 

At the various NHIS district offices, the Management Information Systems (MIS) Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson, Ag. Director of Operations in the Coastal Belt, Mr. Bernard Brown and the Ag. Deputy Director, Business Systems, MIS, Joe Annor-Darkwah responded to some legitimate concerns raised by staff.

According to the DCE Operations, the NHIA is on course to achieve the objective of providing financial risk protection against the cost of quality healthcare services for NHIS members.

Tapa Amanya CHPS compound

Staff of the Tapa Amanya CHPS compound in the Oti Region were inspired by the Deputy Chief Executive Operations, Louisa Atta-Agyemang's visit to their office.

Recognising her as the youngest NHIA Deputy Chief Executive for Operations, the elated staff said her visit had rekindled their spirit of accepting to work in the deprived community.

Mrs Atta-Agyemang praised the nurses for their selflessness in the community's development, especially, combining taking care of their babies and attending to people.

In a related development at the Tapa Amanya CHPS compound, it was an amazing moment meeting Ms Rose Ansah, a former bonded NHIS premium collector at the Tapa Amanya community, from 2005 to 2012.

The NHIA DCE Operations was informed that Madam Rose Ansah was a dedicated and faithful premium debt collector, who still helps in community mobilisation during NHIS mass membership registration in the Tapa Amanya and other satellite communities.

MyNHIS App campaigns

Throughout the working visit, Mrs Atta-Agyemang reinforced the importance of using the self-enrollment platform known as MyNHIS App for multiple registrations and expired membership renewals.

Anywhere she went, the DCE Operations reminded the NHIS District management teams to intensify campaigns on the MyNHIS App and the Mobile Renewal Service platform as a means to decongest the district offices.

Interacting with some pregnant women at the Jasikan NHIS District Office in the Oti Region, the DCE Operations educated them on the significance of the MyNHIS App and the Mobile Renewal Service platform and urged them to take advantage of the systems in renewing their expired NHIS membership and doing fresh registrations.

Jasikan MCE courtesy call

As part of the tour, the DCE Operations conferred with the Jasikan Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Elizabeth Kessewa Anim Adjornor.

The Jasikan MCE called for proactive measures to retool the Jasikan NHIS District Office to enable the staff to improve their performance in increasing the Scheme's active membership.

Mrs Atta-Agyemang said the NHIA Executive Management is poised to ensure that the Scheme remains Ghana's leading vehicle to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030.

Accompanying the DCE Operations were the NHIA Management Information Systems (MIS) Directorate Ag. Director, Mr Daniel Blankson, Ag. Director, Coastal Belt; Mr. Bernard Brown, Ag. Deputy Director, Business Systems, MIS; Joe Annor-Darkwah, Ag. Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs (CAF), Mr Abdul Karim Naatogmah; Senior Manager, DCE Operations Secretariat, Mr Edmund Obeng Amaning and a staffer of the MIS Directorate, Nusrat Gyasi.

Source: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/NHIS