SSNIT Pensioners Medical Scheme said to be viable
Pensioners Medical Scheme (PMS) initiated by the National Pensioners Association (NPA) of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has hit its third milestone with remarkable breakthroughs.
Mr Edward Ameyibor, SSNIT NPA General Secretary, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the PMS was set-up as a Top-Up to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) due to the frequent appeals for assistance to help pensioners detained in health institutions for non-payment of bills fully.
The PMS offers medical support to pensioners for diseases not covered by the NHIS but very common among the aged including prostate related conditions and cervical cancer treatment
He said the only challenge now has to do with the operational hiccups encountered by some health providers regarding the payment deficits by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIS).
Mr Ameyibor said this at a press conference in Accra to update SSNIT-NPA members on the road map towards its implementation.
He also used the occasion to refute media reports, which sought to create disaffection amongst some members.
He said when the deductions started in February 2014; it was believed that, it could be operational all over the country in one year, just as it was done during the pilot scheme.
Mr Ameyibor said the pilot registered and carried out a comprehensive medical examination on 6,150 members, and this led to the development of some data, which was used to fine tune the scheme.
He said Liberty Mutual Health (LMH), has meanwhile, prepared top-up cards for members to enable them to access health care, and this was duly launched in Accra by the Minister of Employment and Labour Relation, Haruna Iddrisu, of which 6,000 are ready and would be distributed as soon as the challenges have been cleared.
Mr Ameyibor said members would start accessing specific health care providers, to be announced later, and the idea is to start small and expand gradually as was done in the pilot scheme.
He said ‘since the PMS was a top-up to this national scheme, the NPA was compelled to pause for the NHIA and their service providers to resolve their operational challenges’.
Mr Ameyibor said in addition, LMH, which was NPA’s contractor, also had regulatory challenges, which fortunately were almost over, and that, what was now pending was an official authorisation to commence implementation.
He said the number of SSNIT Pensioners was approximately 150,000 and not one million, as published by the petitioners; and the membership of the NPA was currently 55,000 and was voluntary.
He said the aggrieved members, who numbered only 35, as per the signatories on the petition, could not be said to be the true representation of the views of the entire membership.
Mr Ameyibor said although the implementation of the PMS has delayed for five months, ‘we have taken steps to inform all our members of the reasons’.
He apologised for the delay and asked members to bear with the leadership as they lay a solid foundation for the PMS, adding that, their monies being deducted have been lodged with an assets management company and with other financial institutions for better yields.
He said the PMS has received the expected support from both members and other institutions all over the country, including the Ministries of Employment and Labour Relations, Gender and Social Protection and the TUC.
He urged all members to consult their local executives for updates on developments and options available to them and desist from resorting to newspaper publications seeking to destroy the unity of the Association.
Source: GNA