The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) says it is surprised at news reports attributed to Mr John Mahama, National Democratic Congress Presidential running mate that about 80 percent of the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme was in financial distress. “We wish to state that the NHIS is financially very sound with 200 million dollars in its Fund as reserves,” a statement signed by its Chief Executive Ras Boateng, said in Accra. The statement added that none of the 145 district, municipal, and metropolitan schemes was facing any threat of financial distress or collapse. It said reports attributed to Mr Mahama that the NHIA was not universal, was also “not factually correct,” adding that the scheme was operational in about 145 districts in the country. The statement said for the past two years, the Authority had been educating Ghanaians on the uniform technology platform to ensure portability and uniformity in the operations of the scheme. “A new membership ID card has been introduced to enable members to access health care anywhere in the country.” The statement assured leaders of political parties that the Authority would readily provide accurate facts and figures on the operations of the NHIS to guide them in their public comments on the scheme. It said while the Authority welcomes interest of political party leaders in its operations and sustainability of the scheme, it would advise that their comments should be based on facts and not misrepresentations, in order not to erase the growing public confidence in the scheme. Source: GNA