The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Victor Asare Bampoe, has hit the ground to assess the impact of the disruption in the national electronic health records and hospital management system facilitating the operations of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on members and providers.
The digitised platform, not owned or managed by the NHIA, integrates healthcare delivery across health facilities.
Conferring with management of the Ho Teaching Hospital and the Regional office of the NHIS in separate meetings in Ho yesterday, October 8, 2025, discussions focused on how the challenge was affecting NHIS operations, particularly members accessing care without having to pay out of pocket, how providers are processing claims, and possible short- to medium-term interventions that could be recommended by stakeholders.
Dr. Bampoe’s visit to some health facilities in the Volta Region formed part of efforts to familiarise himself with the operational challenges and discuss practical short-term interventions to guarantee continuous access to healthcare for NHIS members.
His move was in line with his resolve not to be an armchair Chief Executive, sitting in the comfort of his office in Accra and receiving reports on NHIS operations, but rather to be in touch with providers, Scheme members, and staff of the Authority at all levels across the country to collect firsthand information for informed decisions.
At the Ho Teaching Hospital, Dr. Bampoe and his team were received by the Chief Executive, Dr. Hintermann K. K. Mbroh and other sessional Directors of the hospital.
Situational Report
Dr Bampoe indicated that reports reaching the Authority showed that some facilities were either turning away Scheme members or charging them upfront due to their inability to authenticate them.
He described the situation as unacceptable, noting that there could be other short- to medium-term measures deployed to ensure patients are not charged out of pocket.
“We want our members to have a cash-free experience as much as possible, regardless of the challenge,” he said.
He said he was looking to stakeholders to share ideas on how we can prevent patients from paying out of pocket.
“Perhaps we may even consider deploying some of our staff to support the facilities and ensure that doesn’t happen” he said.
Dr. Bampoe commended the facility for swiftly deploying a manual service authentication and claims documentation process to ensure that NHIS members continue to receive care without paying out of pocket.
He noted that the NHIA would continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders to restore full system functionality as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, the Authority is coordinating with affected facilities to ensure that no NHIS member is denied care.
He expressed appreciation to health workers for their commitment and resilience, describing their efforts as vital in upholding public confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme.
HTH Interventions
On behalf of Dr. Mbroh Mr. George Tetteh, expressed appreciation to Dr. Bampoe for visiting despite his busy schedule. He said the visit demonstrated Dr. Bampoe’s commitment to both NHIS members and healthcare providers.
Mr. Tetteh briefed the NHIA team on measures implemented to ensure NHIS members continued to access care despite the recent system challenges. He explained that the hospital initially reverted to a manual process and later introduced a temporary fix involving manual entry of client codes into the system.
However, when that solution failed, the hospital resumed full manual operations using paper records for triage, diagnosis, laboratory, and prescriptions.
He said the hospital continued to serve clients with valid NHIS cards but faced challenges verifying those without active cards. Such clients were given the option to pay out of pocket, though cash payments were not enforced.
Mr. Tetteh added that steps have been taken to ensure proper documentation and data integrity, with the IT claims team relying on manually completed forms to process claims. He assured us that only NHIS-approved medicines were being supplied and that distinctions between insured and out-of-pocket services were clearly maintained.
He acknowledged that waiting times had increased but said staff continued to educate and reassure patients while the NHIA technical team works to fully restore the digital system for efficient and uninterrupted healthcare delivery.
The Acting Volta Regional Director of the Scheme, Ms. Susan Chobbah, said her team has been working to ensure that NHIS members are not turned away or made to pay for services despite the system challenges.
She explained that she and some colleagues visited the Ho Teaching Hospital and the Ho Municipal Hospital to assess the situation and offer support.
During the visit, they observed that both facilities were using the manual *842 process to generate CC codes and complete manual claims forms.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Doreen Andoh
