Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) will in this financial year conduct an assessment to identify authentic dependants of its members and link its digital systems with other government’s agencies to control cheatings.
NHIF Director of Customer Services, Mr Christopher Mapunda, said the Fund will link its digital systems with that of the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) and National Identification Authority (NIDA) to control faking of dependants by members as well ascheatings by hospitals.
Such acts have been leading to loss of the Fund’s revenues, he said.
“In this financial year, we are going to effectively deploy digital technology in controlling faking of dependants and cheatings,” Mr Mapunda stated yesterday at media workshop in Dodoma as part ofmarking 20thanniversary of the NHIF.
Mr Mapunda also urged Tanzanians to develop tendency of saving money through financial institutions for registering with health insurance coverage, a move that will help in expanding insurance coverage to many people.
Mr Mapunda further said the Fund has already entered into agreements with some banks to enable people save money for contributing to the Fund, something which would boost more members and avoid people join the Fund when they are sick.
“Those who register with insurance cover while already sick usually miss to get services under the insurance cover since they have to wait for a couple of days for the card issuance,” said the Director.
He said that the NHIF coverage, clients are assured of better services and the Fund makes regular improvements, including better treatment services of some major health complications, in efforts to reduce burden of medical bills to Tanzanians.
Cardiovascular, Kidney and Cancer services are among the major treatments which every NHIF client can have, anytime and anywhere, according to the Director.
Mr Mapunda affirmed that a number of the covered Tanzanians is still low, with only eight percent of the population, equal to 4.5 million people.
He therefore, called upon the media to continue educating the mass on the importance of health insurance.
To make sure that all Tanzanians are covered, NHIF has been introducing affordable packages to members of various groups, including journalists in press clubs, petty traders and motorcycle operators, commonly known as bodaboda, among others.
According to him, NHIF has been also entered agreements with some financial institutions, such as CRDB, NMB,NBC and Azania Banks, among others, to pay for health insurance services to peasants in terms of free interest loans, and let beneficiaries pay back after they have sold their farm outputs through Co-operative Unions.
“We are also set to visit all schools, country-wide, through which we will have an opportunity to encourage the parents pay health insurance for their kids. All these efforts are for increasing the number of the covered Tanzanians at affordable costs,” he said.
For his part, NHIF Acting Director General, Mr Charles Lengeju, stressed that the journalists should tirelessly educate members of the public as the government now gears up to introduce the UniversalHealth Coverage.
