Wa, June 3, GNA - About 602,173 people representing 89 per cent of the population of the Upper West Region have been registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as at the end of 2009. Out of the number, about 321,138 are children under 18 years while 19,331 pregnant women were accessing the scheme under the free maternal health care system.

Beneficiaries also include 18,798 indigents, 45,207 elderly people above 70 years as well as 6,741 senior citizens under the SSNIT pension scheme.

Mr John Bosco Zury, Upper West Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), made this known on Thursday at Wa during a performance review seminar for all Health Insurance Schemes in the region. He said for the whole region, the number of workers with valid SSNIT numbers enrolled into the health insurance system was 22,024. He said 168,934 people in the informal sector representing 28 percent of the entire regional membership of the scheme paid out of pocket premiums. Mr Zury stated that the remaining 72 percent comprising children under 18, pregnant women, the aged and indigents, SSNIT pensioners as well as those in the formal sector received subsidy from the state to cover their health care expenses.

He stated that they were targeting a total coverage of about 95 percent of the region's total population under the Health Insurance Scheme by the close of 2010.

On the issuance of Identity cards and its associated difficulties, Mr Zury admitted that it was a major national challenge but was quick to add that with the interim arrangement of locally produced temporary ID cards, no client had been denied access to health care in the region. He said despite the challenge, the number of cumulative ID cards issued at the end of 2009 stood at 533,592 which clients were currently using to access health care at their convenience.

He noted that the total attendance to all health care facilities across the region stood at 319,601 for 2007, 488,796 for 2008 and 441,666 for 2009. Mr Zury said considering the level of utilization of health facilities in the region, the schemes together paid various amounts of 1,930,653.47 in 2007, 4,955,011.17 in 2008 and 43,628,188.49 Ghana cedis in 2009 as cost of care to all health care providers. 3 June 10