Bartels pays NHIS premium for 500

Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma North, Mr Kwamena Bartels, on Sunday registered 500 people in his constituency for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
At a short but impressive ceremony at the Gloryland Hotel, Mr Bartels presented a cheque for ¢75 million to the Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Mr Ras Boateng, as the premium for the beneficiaries.
Mr Bartels said he decided to register the 500 people for a start because the financial demands on him as MP to settle medical bills were too many.
“If we could get many people to register with the scheme, the pressure on us all will go down,” he said.
He expressed the hope to increase the number to 1,000 people as early as it was financially feasible for him.
Mr Bartels said it was important that people registered with the scheme to enable them to have easy access to health care.
“We do not have to read politics into the scheme. It is something all Ghanaians must embrace, since it will reduce the financial demands on us individually and collectively,” he said.
For his part, Mr Boateng expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of the people of the Greater Accra Region towards registering for the scheme.
He said although the region boasted of the best health facilities and a high number of health professionals, residents, including public sector workers, were not registering.
Mr Boateng said besides the lukewarm attitude towards registering for the scheme, those who registered were not collecting their cards.
Currently, he said, there were more than 5,000 unclaimed NHIS cards still locked up in its offices.