The mobile renewal of health insurance registration is to help ensure efficiency by cutting down cost whiles improving operations for quality health care, Mr Oswald Essuah-Mensah, Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs Directorate of National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has said.

He said the move was also to reduce leakages and false claims to save money as well as involve subscribers of the scheme in its administration.

Mr Essuah-Mensah said this when a delegation from NHIA paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Northern Regional Minister in Tamale to brief him about efforts being made to strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme to deliver quality health care to the people.

The NHIA was in the region to meet its various stakeholders to brief them about the mobile renewal of health insurance registration by subscribers to amongst others reduce the time spent by subscribers to renew their membership on the scheme.

The NHIA will formally launch the mobile renewal of health insurance registration allowing subscribers to dial a shortcode (*929#) on any mobile phone to renew their subscriptions to the scheme next Wednesday.

Mr Essuah-Mensah said the mobile renewal of health insurance registration was piloted at West Mamprusi Municipality in the Northern Region and another district in the Eastern Region adding the results of the pilot was impressive hence the decision to roll it out nationwide.

He said the NHIA was working to achieve universal health coverage by deploying technology to increase membership subscription and renewal.

Mr Ben Kusi, Director, Membership and Regional Operations of NHIA said the Authority had introduced an e-receipting system to check money paid to its staff as part of efforts to ensure transparency and avoid fraud.

Mr Solomon Namlit Boar, Deputy Northern Regional Minister commended NHIA for coming out with innovations, which would help pluck the loopholes in health insurance administration to save the country money.

The delegation later paid a courtesy call on Gukpe-Naa Alhaji Al-Hassan Abdulai, Paramount Chief of Tamale and his elders to brief them on the mobile renewal of health insurance registration and efforts being made to strengthen the scheme.

A representative of Gukpe-Naa said the Chiefs were happy that the NHIA was making efforts to offer convenience to subscribers when renewing their subscription assuring that the Chiefs would inform their subjects about the move to ensure success.