JIRAPA/LAMBUSSIE NHIS HOLDS AGM (PAGE 20)

THE Board Chairman of the Jirapa/Lambussie District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS), Mr W. Boguoh, has observed that failure by members of the scheme to renew their membership could be a serious setback to the growth of the scheme.
He said a critical analysis of the active membership of the scheme was worrying as the scheme data indicated that only 21,408 out of 39,554 members whose cards expired as of September 2008 had renewed their membership.
Mr Baguoh has, therefore, charged the publicity unit of the DMHIS to redirect its educational messages by stressing more on the renewal of membership.
He said that was the only means to sustain the scheme.
Mr Baguoh was addressing the fourth annual general meeting (AGM) of the Jirapa/Lambussie MHIS at Jirapa.
He said in order to make the renewal of membership more attractive, incentive packages for clients must be introduced to motivate members to continuously renew their membership.
For that reason, Boguoh urged policy makers to hasten the process of decoupling of children under the scheme.
On the performance of the scheme, the board chairman said as of the end of December, last year, a total of GH¢78,804 had been collected as premium while GH¢72,473 had also been collected as of September, this year, thus bringing the total premium mobilised since the inception of the scheme to GH¢233,785.
“The scheme has since July, this year, implemented the free maternal care for pregnant women with the registration and issuance of cards to 900 women,” he noted and commended the government for the policy.
Mr Baguoh said the policy would go a long way to minimise the current high child infant and maternal mortality in the region.
Four agents of the scheme, according to Mr Baguoh, were handed over to the police for embezzling funds paid to them by clients.
Mr Baguoh advised other agents to desist from such a bad practice, as management of the scheme would deal drastically with any culprit.
He commended the staff, the agents and the community committee members for working hard to rope in more members.
The management also honoured 24 agents of the scheme to motivate them and to encourage others to show more commitment to sustenance of the scheme.