The Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) has proposed a new health insurance scheme to help reduce the number of deaths among Local Government Service (LGS) workers.
This followed an OHLGS inquiry that showed several deceased staff members were unable to obtain funds to cover their medical costs due to financial constraints, which contributed to their deaths.
As a result, among various health insurance schemes that were contacted to carry out the new scheme, Nationwide Medical Insurance was chosen to provide insurance services to LGS throughout the country.
In furtherance to that, a sensitisation session was organised in Koforidua by the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC) in collaboration with Nationwide Medical Insurance to educate LGS workers in the Eastern Region.
The workshop was attended by the heads of ERCC’s decentralised departments and units, municipal and district chief executives, coordinating directors, and human resource department heads.
In a presentation, Mr Isaac Nartey, National Business Development Manager of Nationwide Medical Insurance, stated that the health insurance was not intended to replace the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He did, however, mention that the Nationwide Medical Insurance provided additional benefits when the NHIS reached its maximum medical coverage.
Beneficiaries of the insurance, according to Mr Nartey, were entitled to visit over 600 health institutions, including pharmaceuticals and laboratories, throughout the country’s 16 regions.
Access to general practitioners and specialised consultants, diagnostic tests such as CT scans, X-rays, and others, pharmacy, prenatal, delivery, and post-birth care, and surgery were among the perks he enumerated.
Mr Nartey stated that the packages were accessible at both private and public health care facilities registered with Nationwide Medical Insurance, but added, “Treatment outside of Ghana is not catered for. All the services are restricted to Ghana only. ”
In his welcoming remarks, Mr John Donkor, Eastern Regional Acting Coordinating Director and Eastern Regional Budget Analyst, stated that “there should be health insurance to cover staff of the local government to help prevent sudden deaths.”
He lamented the recent death of a staff member in the human resources department of the New Juaben South Municipality owing to their inability to raise funds to support her medical treatment.
Mr Donkor said that a proposal would be made to the OHLGS to bear a percentage of the monthly contribution to be provided by each staff member as a means of supporting the health staff member.
As a result, he persuaded LGS staff members to accept the OHLGS proposal to avoid losing additional members owing to financial difficulties in accessing medical care.
National Medical Insurance is a health insurance scheme said to be in operation in Ghana for about 18 years and serves over 400 organisations, including MTN, the Ghana Revenue Authority, and 65,000 individuals.