Government To Include Foreigners In NHIS: "It Will Be Good For Ghana"

• NHIA boss, Dr Da-Costa Aboagye, has called for the inclusion of non-Ghanaians in the National Health Insurance Scheme
• According to the NHIS boss, the new policy arrangement would prevent the government from having to cover the health expenses of these foreigners during health emergencies
• He said a special health facility would also be dedicated to them for their care when they come into the country

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Da-Costa Aboagye, says it is about time Ghana extended its universal health coverage to non-Ghanaians.

He is advocating for the inclusion of foreigners and visitors to the country on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Speaking on Citi TV, Dr Aboagye said enrolling foreign nationals in the scheme would benefit the country.

He said the programme could be made mandatory for all foreign nationals visiting the country to ensure that the foreigner would be insured in the event of an emergency.

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He said it would also save the government the burden of covering some of these foreigners' health expenses when they come to Ghana.

Dr Aboagye revealed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the foreigners that had trooped into Ghana were not insured leaving the burden of their health expenses on the government of Ghana.

He said that had such a policy been in place, the insurance policy would have handled such expenses.

He said plans were underway to ensure that the NHIA rolled out the policy as soon as possible to ensure that persons visiting the country receive their Ghana health insurance right at the airport.

He said a health facility will be dedicated to caring for such foreigners in the future.

Government to put dialysis care on NHIS

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Earlier, the government had considered including the dialysis treatment cost in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

This followed a sharp hike in the cost of dialysis treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which led to agitations from dialysis patients and the general public, who sought the government’s intervention.

Following the uproar, the health ministry's public relations officer explained that including dialysis treatment in the NHIS was part of the government's intervention.

Isaac Offei Baah said the government was committed to ensuring the sustenance of the decision once it started.

NHIS to pay more to hospitals

YEN.com.gh reported that the National Health Insurance has announced that it will pay hospitals more for medicines.

This follows a 30% increase in tariffs that came into effect on July 1, 2022, according to a statement from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The NHIS says the upward review is part of plans to expand the coverage of health services to all Ghanaians.

Source: YEN.com.gh