The Jaman South Health Insurance Scheme in Brong Ahafo made a net surplus of more than ¢1.3 billion in 2006 and expects to increase membership by 20 per cent this year.

The chairman of the governing board of the scheme, Mr Sylvester Dapaah, who disclosed this at the fifth annual general meeting of the scheme at Drobo, said the scheme had targeted to register at least 55 per cent of the population in the district this year, in line with the national target of 60 per cent registration.

"The scheme will do all it can to increase its membership from 41,475 to 49,770, which will in a way increase the subvention from the National Health Insurance Fund to at least 1,835,060,034 cedis per quarter," he said.

He noted that among the expenditure incurred by the scheme last year, healthcare bills and claims attracted more than four billion cedis and this was likely to increase this year if the abuse of the system continued.

Mr Dapaah said efforts were being made to educate clients on the effect of the abuse of the system to help reduce the budgeted healthcare bill for this year.

The scheme's future challenges include adverse selection in which some household and family heads deliberately register only the sick amongst them, as well as household heads adding their own children/ wards to those of their relatives and or friends to be registered, he said.

Source: GNA