Delays in release of funds from Consolidated Fund to NHIF, sometimes unavoidable - NHIA

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), says delays in the release of funds from the Consolidated Fund to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) are sometimes unavoidable.

A statement issued by the NHIA indicated that “Collections of the National Health Insurance Levies (NHIL) into the Consolidated Fund occur over a period, and therefore releases into the NHIF may sometimes delay.”

The statement was in response to concerns raised by the Minority in Parliament over the current state of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

According to the NHIA, GHS 1,393 million was released by the Ministry of Finance into the National Health Insurance Fund within the year 2021.

But after the application of standard accounting reporting principles by the Authority, GH1,266.14 million was treated as payment for liabilities of the government.

“This left an amount of GH127 million, which in the standard accounting reporting framework was attributed to the 2021 financial year,” the Authority said.

It added: “By an agreement, providers have 60 days to submit their claims whilst the NHIA has 90 days to vet, process, and pay. Based on this, an accurate arrears position will be difficult to be determined at any point in time as this will depend on when claims are submitted to the NHIA.

“For example, between 25 – 30% of healthcare providers have submitted their October to December 2021 (last quarter) claims as of March 2022. It will be quite erroneous to state emphatically that the NHIA owes GH2.5 billion to providers for claims submitted to March 2022.”

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