…Ranking Member on Health Committee
National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) levies collected since July 2021 have not been paid by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, into the National Health Insurance Fund. Reveals the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh.
“Since July 2021, the Minister responsible for finance has not paid the levies collected in the name of the National Health Insurance Levy to the National Health Insurance Fund and therefore, the service providers for the scheme are threatening to withdraw their services. This is how bad it is,” he stated whiles addressing the media in Parliament last Thursday.
It is not clear where Ken Ofori-Atta has sent the monies to if the allegations are true.
In the past, Ken Ofori-Atta has come under question marks about the whereabouts of petroleum funds as well.
Since 2018, he has also been under the allegation of diverting some Ghc52billion tax money from the Ghana Commercial Bank to an unknown destination.
According to Hon. Mintah Akandoh, the Juaboso MP, the diversion of the NHIS monies will have adverse effects on ordinary Ghanaians.
Apparently, Mr. Ofori Atta has never been to the floor of Parliament to inform the House about how funds generated from the NHIA are used, although several questions have been filed in that regard.
Hon. Akandoh charged the government to ensure that payment into the NHIS fund is expedited and pleaded with service providers not to withdraw their services to patients on the scheme who visit their facilities.