Subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme will have access to free primary health care and dialysis treatment. Parliament has approved a formula for the National Health Insurance Fund that captures primary health care and dialysis as part of the benefits package for subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The house consequently approved an amount of GHC10 billion for the authority. The amount is GHC4 billion more than last year’s allocation. The increased allocation has been attributed to the removal of the capping policy introduced by the Nana Addo administration in 2017.
Speaking to the media after the approval Minister for Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh assured the Mahamacares Fund will augment the NHIS for treatment of dialysis without any discrimination unlike what existed under the Nana Addo administration. The Juaboso MP explained the free primary health care policy will ensure patients are treated at no cost when they show up at health facilities with some conditions.
“When a Ghanaian is sick and they go to a CHP compound, a health center, the policy is that they must be treated free of charge.” He emphasized.
The formula approved by Parliament will also address the funding gap created by the withdrawal of support for the health sector by USAID.
“The funding gap in the health sector created by the withdrawal of support by the Trump administration is to be catered for by the NHIA.
The National Health Insurance Fund will also support the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahamacares)”
Mr. Akandoh revealed the NHIS will permanent cater for renal patients in need of dialysis
“You will all recall that in the 2024 formula, we allocated GHC2 million for Dialysis. That was where there was this policy direction that renal patients below the age of 18 and above 60 would be catered for by the National Health Insurance Fund. That formula died on the 31 of December 2024. So beyond that, there was no policy in place for dialysis.”
“Now with this formula, what we have one is that we have included dialysis as part of the benefits package for the National Health Insurance Scheme just like malaria or any other disease. So the policy direction is that we are going to fund dialysis in this country through the NHIS. That notwithstanding, we are bringing the Mahamacares Fund which has already been established to be dedicated towards chronic none communicable diseases.” Akandoh said
