The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has inaugurated a specialised Claims and Co-Payment Committee to investigate and eliminate the illegal practice of co-payments—out-of-pocket charges imposed on NHIS cardholders at healthcare facilities.
The taskforce was inaugurated at the NHIA’s head office by the Acting Chief Executive, Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, who underscored the urgency and significance of the initiative as part of his three-pronged strategic vision for reforming the Authority.
The four-member committee is chaired by Dr. Francis Asenso-Boadi, a Director at the NHIA, with members including Dr. Yaw Opoku Boateng (Director), Mr. Daniel Blankson (Acting Director), and Mr. Daniel Frempong Acheampong (Deputy Director), who serves as Secretary to the committee.
They have been mandated to delve deep into the root causes of the illegal charges, diagnose the systemic failures that enable them, and design pragmatic and sustainable mechanisms to end the practice.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Bampoe declared that addressing co-payment is a top priority of his tenure and a benchmark upon which his leadership should be judged.
“If we fail to manage it effectively, all our efforts could be undermined because co-payments significantly impact confidence in the scheme”.
Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, the Acting Chief Executive of NHIA
Dr. Bampoe further expressed confidence in the competence and integrity of the taskforce members, describing them as some of NHIA’s brightest and most experienced staff.
He pledged to provide them with all the necessary support and resources to succeed, adding that the team’s success would ultimately be the Authority’s success.
“We must ensure this team receives full support, as their success will ultimately be our success”.
Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, the Acting Chief Executive of NHIA
He acknowledged previous, albeit unsuccessful, attempts to deal with co-payments but stressed that this renewed effort must distinguish itself with real results and lasting solutions.
Reframing the Fight Against Co-Payment
Also addressing the inauguration, the Deputy Chief Executive of Operations, Dr. Senanu Kwesi Dzokoto, lauded Dr. Bampoe’s bold initiative, describing the moment as a pivotal one in the Authority’s history.
He noted that the issue of co-payment has persisted partly because previous interventions focused on surface-level symptoms rather than the structural and behavioural dynamics that sustain the illegality.
“I’ve been on the other side for a very long time, and I told some colleagues that when the hunter learns to shoot without missing the bird, the bird certainly learns to fly without perching”
Dr. Senanu Kwesi Dzokoto, the Deputy Chief Executive of Operations
Dr. Dzokoto used the proverb to illustrate how healthcare providers have evolved to outsmart monitoring systems.
He added that the new approach of “diving deep” into the root causes represents a wiser, more strategic battle plan and pledged his department’s full support to the committee.
A Defining Moment for NHIA
Echoing these sentiments, Mr. Raphael Segkpeb, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Administration and Human Resources, delivered a sober reminder of past failures and a clarion call for accountability this time around.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for all of us as management of NHIA—and for you in particular, as members of the committee—to deliver on this particular mandate. Because, as you recall, we’ve been down this road before. We had a committee that was tasked to do exactly what we are asking you to do today, but we did not get the desired results. I don’t know what happened.
“But I believe we have learned some lessons—from what we could have done right, and what didn’t go well. And based on that, I expect that we should be in a position to correct what didn’t go well or what we could have done well so that we deliver this time round.”
Mr. Raphael Segkpeb, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Administration and Human Resources,
Mr. Segkpeb emphasized that another failure would not only discredit the task force but also damage the Authority’s credibility and the public’s faith in the health insurance scheme.
He challenged the committee to rise to the occasion, learn from history, and deliver solutions that would outlast the current leadership.
Financial and Operational Support Secured
Ms. Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri, Deputy Chief Executive of Finance and Investment, also assured the committee of her office’s unwavering support.
She pledged to work closely with Dr. Bampoe to ensure that the committee is well-resourced and operationally efficient.
Other directors from across the NHIA were present at the ceremony and pledged their collective support to the taskforce, signalling a unified front in tackling one of the NHIA’s most stubborn challenges.
The formation of the Co-Payment Taskforce comes at a critical time, as the NHIA seeks to reposition the National Health Insurance Scheme as a robust and reliable mechanism for delivering universal health coverage in Ghana.
Illegal co-payments—where patients are forced to pay out-of-pocket for services covered by the NHIS—undermine the scheme’s very essence and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
With this fresh initiative, the NHIA hopes to address the underlying issues that fuel co-payment practices, ranging from delayed reimbursement claims and inadequate funding to lack of enforcement and accountability at service points.
As Dr. Bampoe sets out to push NHIA’s claims payment ratio to 65 percent in the first year and 70 percent in the second, the elimination of co-payments is expected to bolster public trust, improve healthcare access, and restore the NHIS’s credibility as a pro-poor social intervention policy.
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