Since the emergence of the NHIS on the global healthcare landscape as a promising model of financial risk protection against the cost of healthcare for all residents of Ghana, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has earned international plaudits and won some notable awards.

The latest award comes in the light of the scheme’s growth and auspicious performance in the relatively short period of implementation.

At the West Africa Regional Magazine 2014 Business & Leadership Awards in Brussels, Belgium, on the 4th of October, 2014, “the Award for the Most Dependable, Transparent & Efficient Health Insurance Scheme in Africa” was presented to the NHIS “for inspiring the healthcare-seeking behavior of Ghanaians and increasing life expectancy in Ghana through the sustenance of the healthcare Industry”.

The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, Mr Sylvester Mensah was also cited for an “Award for Transformational Leadership in the Health Sector of Ghana” for his “Outstanding Performance as Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority” (NHIA).

Receiving the Awards on behalf of the NHIS and its Chief Executive, the Deputy Chief Executive of the NHIA in charge of Administration & Human Resources, Mr, Edward Amissah Nunoo, expressed his gratitude to the organizers for the kind acknowledgement of the progress of the NHIS.

He pledged that the NHIS would continue to work towards greater efficiency and client satisfaction, and strive to maintain its hard-earned international reputation as an acclaimed international model, adding that “the award would spur us on to even greater performance across the NHIS in our continuing pursuit of excellence”.

The joint award comes at a time of increases in NHIS active membership and utilization of healthcare, the scaling-up of the Instant Issuance of Biometric ID Cards to NHIS members in four major regions in Ghana, as well as the scaling-up of Capitation as an additional payment mechanism to three other regions apart from the Ashanti region where it was first piloted.

These and other initiatives such as Clinical Audit, E-Claims and other claims management initiatives, are demonstrably driving efficiency in the NHIS.