Mr Kwamena Ndzibah Ghansah, Central Regional Human Resource Manager of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has called on service providers to submit accurate, credible and reasonable claims to ensure early payments.

He said the insertion of ghost names, inflation of bills, overbilling of clients and other irregularities in claims, delay payments.

Mr Ghansah said this at a second quarterly stakeholders meeting of the NHIS of the Mfantsiman and Ekumfi Districts at Saltpond.

Forty-one healthcare providers including representatives of traditional councils, health directors and other officials from the two districts regional office of the NHIS.

Mr Ghansah expressed regret about the abuse of the free-maternal care programme, adding that the falsification of records make it difficult for payment of claims.

Mr Robert Brandford Mensah, Regional Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Manager of the Scheme, said there is the need for Ghanaians to stop the condemnation and criticism of the NHIS, saying: “Let us take the NHIS from the political talks so as to help the vulnerable on the streets.”

He said there are more people on the streets who cannot take care of their medical bills and need assistance from the Scheme.

Dr Mark Nii Lamptey, Mfantsiman District Director of the Scheme, said 29,000 out of 49,000 people targeted for the Mfantsiman and Ekumfi Districts have registered as at May.

He said the Scheme has been able to settle all arrears it owed for 2014 and urged service providers to be principled and tolerate the NHIS clients.

Nana Kwame Appiah II, Chief of Ekumfi Esuehyia, called on the people in the two districts to register with the Scheme to enable them get free medical care.