Review of NHIS benefits underway in Accra
Ten years after the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), health experts, representatives of the donor community and other stakeholders have converged on Accra to review the benefits under the scheme.
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On the theme, “An equitable and sustainable benefit package based on evidence”, the exercise aims at ensuring the survival of the scheme, as well as its ability to provide quality, cost-effective and equitable services for its members.
The two-day dialogue will, among others, consider views on what illnesses and medicines the scheme should cover, as well as engage stakeholders in a way that emphasises social ownership and joint responsibility for the scheme.
The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyemang Mensah, in his opening remarks, said since its inception in 2003, the scheme had received numerous delegations from across Africa and Asia, as well as institutions such as USAID, among others, to understudy it or share experiences.
“We have come a long way in a relatively short period of time, even though we could have done better with the structures, strategies and systems we have in place,” he said.
He drew attention to a significant feature of the NHIS, the benefit package available to subscribers, and said it had been described as unsustainable by some well-meaning stakeholders and partners.
“Indeed, apart from a few exclusions, the package covers an extensive range of the commonest medical conditions and services in Ghana. Interestingly, whereas some consider it too generous, others suggest that the package be further expanded to include conditions, medicines and services currently not listed in the package,” the Minister of Health said.
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Ms Mona Quartey, said health financing had, over the years, become a major concern to governments the world over.
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According to her, there was a link among high NHIS coverage, life expectancy and maternal mortality.
Coverage
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NHIS, Mr Sylvester Mensah, in a welcoming address, said currently the scheme had a membership of over 10 million and still working towards covering more people.
According to him, the NHIS had a generous benefit package that covered over 90 per cent of diseases in the country.
However, he said, the scheme had a deficit in its income and expenditure, a situation which needed to be reviewed.
NHIS, model in Africa
The Health Chief Officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ms Akua Kwateng-Addo, who is participating in the dialogue, described Ghana’s health insurance scheme as a model in the sub-region and the continent as a whole.
She said the scheme was the only one in the sub-region that sought to provide a standardised health package for subscribers.
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