Members of the National Social Security and National Insurance Scheme (SNNIT) Pensioners’ Association have launched a health scheme to help its members’ to access quality health care.

It would officially come into operation in February next year and would take care of diseases not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

These include hypertension, diabetes, prostate and breast cancer, ambulance services, surgeries, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other scans, laboratory services, physiotherapy, hospital and mortuary expenses.

Mr. Edward Ameyibor, General Secretary of the Association, said it would be operated in partnership with the Liberty Mutual Health Company, a private insurance entity.

He was speaking at the pilot registration of members for the association for the insurance scheme at the Centre for National Culture (CNC) in Kumasi.

Already, the three Northern Regions have been covered and the target is to register in excess of 16,000 people in Ashanti by the end of Friday.

Mr Ameyibor said those who enroll onto the scheme would be able to receive medical treatment regardless of the cost.

He expressed the hope that it would mark an end to the situation where pensioners often died because of the inability to afford the cost of health treatment.

He invited his colleague pensioners to register and benefit.

The nationwide registration exercise is expected to end by the close of this month.