Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health on Wednesday said government will sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme at all cost for the present and future generations. "One of the things that threaten the survival of the scheme is the high cost of medicines..since Ghana imports almost all its drug needs from the giant multinational companies. "It means our survival is in your hands," the Minister said and called on pharmaceutical companies to introduce concessionary prices for drugs since 80 percent of the NHIS bill was for drugs. Maj. Quashigah's call was contained in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Raz Boateng, Director of the National Health Insurance Scheme at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Representatives of Ethical Pharmaceutical Industries (AREPI) The AGM, on the theme: "Evolution of the NHIS: Implications for Patient-Centred Care," brought together stakeholders in the health sector including doctors, pharmacists, nurses as well as pharmaceutical companies who are also members of AREPI. The Health Minister said: "My ministry will welcome proposals from your Association aimed at helping to sustain the scheme by cutting the cost of medicines for millions of Ghanaians." Maj. Quashigah noted that the state was bearing the full cost of care to every registered member, hence the cost burden was greater on government than even in rich countries. "Your pharmaceutical companies are in business of originating new medical products to meet the present and future needs. They are patent holders of the worlds most needed medical products and therefore control the health care delivery in all countries. Their products are more expensive than the generic ones but the world cannot do without them," the minister said. He explained that given the choice, every member of the scheme would go in for original patent drugs. Giving an update on the scheme, Maj. Quashigah said at the inception, the target was to achieve 40 percent nationwide registration and membership by the end of 2008 and satisfactorily it had passed that target by the first quarter of this year. He said the scheme had so far lived up to the responsibility of providing affordable quality health services and noted that it remained the best and most secure social welfare package that the state was providing for its citizens. "Over 60 percent of members are accessing free health care without paying premium. These are children below 18 and the aged above 70 and the very poor called indigents." Maj. Quashigah stressed that the NHIS was aimed at providing affordable and accessible health care for all residents. Mr Kwesi Eghan, Director of Medview Services, in a presentation urged the scheme to develop a framework which would have indicators and tools to monitor the implementation of the NHIS. Describing the scheme as an economic arrangement other than a health programme, he called for the development of a policy on reimbursable and exempt drugs and noted that the effectiveness of the scheme was a big challenge. Dr Alberta Amu, Medical Doctor at the Dodowa Health Centre, speaking from a physician point of view about the scheme, stressed the need for the availability of key drugs and said patients get frustrated when they had to go round with prescriptions to look for drugs. She identified poor communication skills on the part of health practitioners as a major hindrance to the schemes effectiveness and urged the managers to consider patients in decision-making Mrs. Doris Addae-Afoakwa from the Dayden Pharmacy in the Kpeshie sub district who also shared her experiences about the community based health scheme also called for a review of drug list. She said pharmacists should be given the oversight responsibilities in the rural areas. Mr. William Ofori of Astra Zeneca Company identified cost, quality and access as major tools that could make the scheme effective. He said medication formed a big chunk of the health care budget but cautioned that cheap drugs could also be expensive. Mr. Ofori said while looking at affordability, the scheme should also concentrate on quality to make it effective. Source: GNA