Ho Health Insurance Scheme membership drive net more clients
The Ho Mutual Health Insurance Scheme has registered 13,110 more clients, following an eight-day special drive for membership last month.
The event, designed to herald the naming of the Ho Scheme as the best in the Volta Region, raised membership to 165,717 which is 83 per cent coverage.
Mr George Tasiame, Public Relations Officer of the Ho Scheme, told GNA that the promotion planners projected 7,000 new and dormant clients “but what we have is nearly double, indicating the exercise is a huge success”.
He said out of that number (13,110) a total of 6,911 renewed their cards while 6,199 registered freshly.
Mr Tasiame said cash obtained during the period, including premiums and registration fees, was GH¢109,272.
He said during the promotion, hyped by the media, the Scheme, which waived certain fees, moved registration squads from point to point in the communities and returned to give membership cards to clients at points of registration.
Mr Mawuko Tsigbe, Scheme Manager, observed that the Scheme’s fast growing good performance was based on the sound marketing approach to achieving organizational goals.
“Which means every member of staff, from the base to the top is trained to explain the concept of health insurance and ready to guide prospective clients through the process”, he stated.
Mr Tsigbe said people refusing to register or renew membership were under two categories: sceptics, who doubted the efficacy of the scheme and a large group of bystanders who wanted to be sick before rushing to register.
He said these renewal defaulters and non-registered people would tell you “they don’t fall sick and so do not see the reason to register”.
Mr Tsigbe mentioned card swapping by clients and presentation of unjustified claims by some service providers as some of the abuses that the Scheme was contending with.
He dismissed claims that Health Insurance card bearers were discriminated against at health facilities, explaining that under the health insurance, more people seek medical attention.
Mr Tsigbe said the delays would reduce as health facilities expand to take care of increasing number of clients, citing the Ho Municipal Hospital where a computerized outpatient administration system had reduced consultation turnaround time considerably.
He said the highest fee paid by the Scheme in recent times in respect of a member who was on admission for six months at the Volta Regional Hospital was GH¢4,100.
Source: GNA