The Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana is suggesting to the government to reinstate the collection of road tolls to finance the government’s flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

“We want the reinstatement of the road tolls that were abolished and direct any revenue realised to support the Free SHS,” Mr Frank Tobolu Richard, General Secretary of the association, said.  

According to him, this will halt the situation of revenue meant for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) being used to finance the Free SHS programme.

Speaking in an interview on the 6 am news on Accra100.5 FM on Thursday, 7 April 2022, Mr Richard maintained that by so doing, there will be ready cash to finance the Free SHS instead of using funds meant for the NHIS. 

He noted that members of the association are owed GHS150 million by the government for more than seven months.

He called on the government to release funds to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for the immediate payment of claims to healthcare service providers.

These include all arrears for December 2021 as well as the outstanding arrears owed to some healthcare facilities from 2017 to 2022.  

He also called for a review of the tariffs on drugs under the NHIS due to soaring inflation.