The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has submitted a proposal to Parliament seeking to amend Regulation 56 Legislative Instrument 1809 of 2004 to give free medical care to children under 18 years. This will empower the authority to give free medical care to children whose parents have not registered with the scheme (NHIS). Akwasi Acquah, media relations manager of the NHIA, who disclosed this to the Times in Accra on Monday, said this was among amendments being sought by the NHIA to enable it to effectively implement the NHIS. He said currently Regulation 56 of the Act made it impossible for children whose parents' have not registered with the scheme to enjoy free medical care. He said when the amendment is made, the NHIA would begin an exercise to register students below 18 years. Mr Acquah said the objective of the scheme was to give free medical care to citizens who have subscribed to the scheme. He said the objective would be defeated if children who were the most vulnerable in society are denied free healthcare because their parents had not joined the scheme. On how the NHIA would register all the students under 18, Mr Acquah said that the NHIA would request heads of schools to furnish the authority with names of their students who will then be issued with NHIS cards. He denied rumours that the NHIA was charging a premium of GH¢ 150 explaining that the minimum and maximum premiums allowed under the scheme were GH¢7.20 and GH¢48. He also dismissed rumours that the NHIS had been abolished, adding "it is still in operation" and asked those who have not registered to do so. Mr Acquah cautioned service providers who hide medicines and ask subscribers to buy drugs from other pharmacies to put a stop to it, saying it was a breach of the contract with them. Source: Ghanaian Times