Deputy Director of Communications of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Selorm Adonoo, has given assurances that the authority will pay its outstanding arrears by March, 2016.

This was after the National Executive of the Health Insurance Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG), one of the health service providers under the scheme, served notice to revert to the cash and carry system due to the huge amount owed it by NHIA.

Reports indicate that the NHIA owes over GHS420million in arrears.

Mr Adonoo, who spoke in an interview with Ekow Mensah- Shalders on the Executive Breakfast Show on Class FM Monday 15th February, 2016, indicated that HISPAG had softened its stance after stakeholder negotiations agreed on the settlement of the debt by next month.

“We keep engaging with our service providers, and engaged some of them on Thursday and Friday, including HISPAG and the Private Medical and Dental Practitioners. NHIA is mobilising funds to be able to clear the arrears in one month,” he assured.

“That is the agreement and that assurance was given based on the assurance from higher authorities. We will not be able to clear all the arrears but a huge chunk will be cleared,” he stated.

According to him, the authorities have been given assurances by “government that they will continually make the budgetary allocations available”.

Meanwhile the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) is probing alleged cases of fraudulent payments by the NHIA, resulting in the freezing of the bank accounts of the authority’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sylvester Mensah, about a month ago.