More than nine million Ghanaians, representing 45 percent of the population, have registered for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The scheme has set itself a national target coverage of 60 percent by the end of this year. The Executive Secretary of the scheme, Mr. Ras Boateng, announced this in a speech read on his behalf during the presentation of 100 bicycles purchased at a cost of GH¢4,200 (¢42 million) for 100 registration and collection agents in the Hohoe District. He explained that to meet the target, all the district schemes had been provided with 4x4 pickups to improve mobility. Mr Boateng said other logistics such as computers and accessories, as well as bicycles had also been made available to the various schemes. He added that a revised medicine list would be out by the beginning of October, this year, to help address problems associated with the present one. Mr Boateng appealed to Ghanaians to join the scheme to enable them to benefit from its advantages instead of politicising it. The Hohoe District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr John Peter Amewu, said the NHIS had come to replace the cash and carry system, which resulted in a lot of deaths since people could not afford the cost of health services. He paid tribute to the management of the scheme for working hard to lay the necessary foundation for the implementation of the scheme. The Hohoe District Manager of the NHIS, Mr Lawrence Sakada, said the scheme, which was launched in the district in 2005, had 67,000 registered members and a total of ¢5.2 billion had been paid on behalf of its clients. He said further that 38,000 out of the registered members had been issued with identity cards, while a total of ¢948.7 million had been collected as premium. Mr Sakada said the district scheme had set a target of 70 percent coverage by the end of this year, hence the need to make its agents mobile to enable them to reach the remote parts of the district. He mentioned, as one of the major challenges facing the scheme in the district, the exclusion of some vital drugs from the central medicine list, which had resulted in the issuance of prescriptions to clients. Source: Daily Graphic