The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has denied claims by the Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA) that its recent directive is to disenfranchise members of the association.

The NHIA had stated previously that privately owned health centres manned by physician assistants had up to June 30, 2020 to upgrade their status with the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency and subsequently the NHIA.

The statement added that the Authority would no longer grant credentials to privately-owned health centres manned by physician assistants.

This according to the Authority is to ensure that the services of physician assistants are supervised in accordance with their training guidelines.

In response, GPAA argued that the directive sought to stop its members from going into private practice.

The Association further accused NHIA of not being clear with its motives for the directive.

But in its latest communiqué on the issue, the NHIA said it is “open to discussions with any recognized groups in the health sector who may feel disenfranchised in any way to dialogue and reach an amicable solution.”

“As a regulator, the Authority’s primary focus is to ensure that Ghanaian residents have access to quality health care and the safety of NHIS members is guaranteed.

"The NHIA reiterates that we have no interest in discriminating against any group of health care providers in Ghana.

“Guided by quality standards and protocols that Ghana has set for the health sector, we are working with stakeholders such as the Medical and Dental Council and Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Health (MOH), to ensure quality improvement.”