NHIF to hold talks with private hospitals operators

Sophia Kumkana

DAR ES SALAAM: THE National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Director General, Mr Bernard Konga said yesterday that

his office will on Monday hold talks with private hospital operators regarding raised issues on the provision of health services to NHIF members.

Speaking during a meeting with editors organised by the Office of Treasury Registrar (OTR) in Dar es Salaam, on Thursday, Mr Konga NHIF is looking forward to resolve all challenges and give clarifications on issues that lead to misunderstanding between NHIF and private hospital operators. He said clarification will be given on the new NHIF packages.

He said NHIF recognises and value the contribution of private hospitals in the health sector and that it will not hesitate to hold talk with them whenever challenges arise. In March 1, some of private hospitals declared the suspension of services to NHIF members. However, they announced the resume of services after the discussion with the Ministry of Health.

The NHIF boss said the fund has continued to improve its package, which offer a wider range of benefits in specialised and general health services compared to other health insurance schemes. He said the improvements are due to the large investment made in infrastructure and professionals in the sector.

“In 2022/23 the fund paid 32.46bn/- for cancer treatment compared to 27.5bn/- paid in 2021/22 and Kidney treatment costs were 35.40bn/- 2022/23 compared to 34.4bn/- in 2021/22” he said.

According to Mr Konga the number of people who suffer from non-communicable diseases (NCD) has been increasing, a situation that requires NHIF to provide education to the public to curb the problem.

“I encourage the public to consider professional advice and change lifestyle to avoid NCDs,” he added.

Moreover, the DG said benefits package improvements aim to strengthen access to services based on the current medical needs and align the country’s medical guidelines with the benefit package to implement the recommendations of the 2021 Fund Vitality Assessment Report.

He said that the basic things that were considered during the package improvement include conducting research and analysis of real costs in health services market in the country and enabling specialist services including Heart, Cancer, Bones to be provided in Zonal Referral Hospitals.

On the other hand, the fund has succeeded in strengthening the identification of beneficiaries at the centres by using biometric and facial identification and strengthening the Information Communication Technology (ICT) system by enabling members to register and get a payment number.