There was a very hot verbal exchange in Parliament on Tuesday between Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, MP for Juaboso and Minority Ranking Member on the Committee on Health, and the Minister of Education and MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, during a debate on the motion for the approval of the formula for the disbursement of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2020 as contained in the report of the Committee of the whole of Parliament.

It all started when Kwabena Mintah Akandoh during his contribution to the motion for the adoption of the Committee's report, emphasized the need for "government to focus more on spending funds to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health personnel than purchasing vehicles for the Health Service in this time of COVID-19".

However, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh quickly raised a "point of correction" during which he said by saying the purchase of vehicles should not be the priority as the nation fights COVID-19, Hon Akandoh was "displaying ignorance on the issue as vehicles were needed in conveying the PPEs and other medical supplies" in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Juaboso MP, clearly unhappy with the comments of the Education Minister, called for a retraction, saying "if the Education Minister was indeed a Medical Doctor he would have understood the point" he Akandoh was making that buying PPE at this time of COVID-19 was more important than vehicles.

Meanwhile, the formula for the disbursement of the National Health Insurance ( NHIS ) Fund for 2020 has been approved by the House.

In 2020 an amount of Ghc 2, 372.30 billion ( two thousand, three hundred and seventy-two billion Ghana cedis ) is expected to be received into the NHIS Fund from NHIL / SSNIT and other sources for the operations of the National Health Insurance Authority.