The National Health Insurance Authority says it has exceeded the target for indigent registration for the year 2019.

Clarifying an earlier publication, the Authority said the 2019 target of Indigent Registration includes pregnant women which was excluded from the figures projected by Deputy Director of Membership and Regional Operations at NHIA, Raymond Avinu.

Mr. Avinu who was responding to questions in an interview stated that, out of the total 1.5 million marginalised persons targeted for 2019, only 580,000 indigents have been registered; blaming logistical constraints and issues at the social welfare department for the deficit.

But in a statement signed by the Corporate Affairs Directorate of the NHIA, “the target for Indigent Registration for the year 2019 which is 1,200,000 has been exceeded as at last month with a figure of 1,261,952 (out of which 648,839 are pregnant women).”

The statement also stated that “a total of 12,005,093 Active Membership have been recorded as at the end of November 2019. By this, the Authority has exceeded the Active Membership target of 11.7 million (39% of the population of Ghana) for the same year.”

It went further to assure Ghanaians that the Authority is still committed to its additional mandate of registering impoverished people onto the scheme.

Read the full statement below.

NHIA MEETS 2019 REGISTRATION TARGET

The National Health Insurance Authority has taken notice of a media publication with the headline “NHIA unlikely to meet 2019 registration”.

The Authority wishes to state that the 2019 target of Indigent Registration includes pregnant women which was excluded from the figures projected by Mr. Raymond Avinu, Deputy Director of MRO.

The target for Indigent Registration for the year 2019 which is 1,200,000 has been exceeded as at last month with a figure of 1,261,952 (out of which 648,839 are pregnant women).

The Authority hereby announces that, a total of 12,005,093 Active Membership has been recorded as at the end of November 2019. By this, the Authority has exceeded the Active Membership target of 11.7 million (39% of the population of Ghana) for the same year.

Indigents are the poor and vulnerable and non-income earning members of the scheme who do not have any regular financial support. They are assessed and qualified by the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection to receive free NHIS registration; example includes, LEAP Beneficiaries, Children under the school Feeding Programme, pregnant women, etc. Indigents, among other categories, are exempted from paying full contribution (premium).

We wish to assure the general public that the National Health Insurance Authority is committed to its additional mandate of registering impoverished people unto the Scheme. The confidence in the scheme is at all-time high.

Signed:

Corporate Affairs Directorate, NHIA.