Mr Elliot Nestor Akototse, Volta Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has called on residents of the region to join the scheme to celebrate its achievements within the past 10 years.

“Join us in congratulating each other, including government, for introducing and maintaining the NHIS policy,” he said in a statement.

As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, the NHIS would organise a float in the Ho Municipality on Saturday.

Mr Akototse said Ghanaians and international partners needed to pat each other on the back for the diverse roles they played towards the success of the NHIS.

“The past has been groundbreaking, the present engaging, but the future is bright and promising,” Mr Akototse said.

He said: “The NHIS has been transformed from 145 semi autonomous mutual schemes with disparate management structures, processes, procedures and ICT software under Act 650 at its inception, into a well-structured universal national scheme under a new Act 852 of 2012.”

The scheme has become the major instrument for financing healthcare in Ghana and accounted for 85 percent of the internally generated revenue of all government and mission health institutions.

Membership of the scheme has also “grown exponentially from one million to nine million active members for whom it covers about 95 disease conditions and provides social protection for 70 percent of its members who are exempted from paying premiums.

“The Scheme has also attracted several nations across the world to understudy it,” he said.

The scheme also won the United Nations Award for Excellence and Leadership in 2010, Mr Akototse said.

He said the scheme had embarked on rebranding itself and establishing two more Claims Processing Centres in addition to the existing one to improve claims processing.

Mr Akototse said the pilot capitation payment system in the Ashanti Region would be rolled out across the country.

The scheme is also in the process of issuing instant biometric membership cards to subscribers and piloting E-claims to inject efficiency, effectiveness, speed and value for money into the entire claims management value chain, Mr Akototse said.

The month-long celebration was launched on Thursday, September 19, 2013, by Ms Sherry Aryeetey, Minister of Health, under the theme; “Towards Universal Health Coverage : Increasing Enrolment whilst Ensuring Sustainability.”

Highlights of the celebration include health walk and medical screening, special registration exercises, lecture, floats, open day at regional offices, international conference and field trips to NHIS installations.