Dormaa Ahenkro (B/A), April 26, GNA - The Dormaa District Health Insurance Scheme has announced an upward adjustment in its registration fee and annual premium for members.

The adjustment was announced at a stakeholders' meeting held at Dormaa Ahenkro on Tuesday to assess the scheme's performance between August 2005 and February this year.

It was decided that henceforth, each member of the scheme would pay a registration fee of 20,000 cedis instead of the previous 8,000 cedis. The premium per annum would also be upped from 72,000 cedis to 100,000 cedis as from May 1, 2006, when registration would open. Tabling the proposal at the meeting, attended by staff of the District Assembly, management and board of the scheme and five representatives each from the district's 16 area councils, the board chairman, Mr Hayford S. Baah, explained that with only eight months in operation, almost all the scheme's clients had accessed healthcare, putting much stress on its finances.

He expressed the fear that the scheme might not survive, if the government delayed in releasing its support for the third and fourth quarters to them.

The scheme's manager, Mr Martin Amponsah, announced that the scheme now had 46,219 members, with those aged below 18 years making up 64 per cent of the number.

He observed that there was more room for improvement, if the bulk of the district's 150,000 population was to be covered for the scheme. Mr Amponsah said the scheme, apart from providing easy access to healthcare, had also saved the lives of vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children.

In a speech read for him, Squadron Leader Benjamin Anane-Asamoah, District Chief Executive, called on the management of the scheme and health facilities in the district to work hard to ensure the survival of the scheme.