Government Makes Dialysis Treatment Free For Six Months Only
- The government of Ghana has included dialysis treatment on the National Health Insurance Scheme for six months
- The initiative is in fulfilment of a promise to include dialysis treatment on the NHIS to alleviate the financial burden patients
- The six-month period will begin in June and end in December 2024
The Government of Ghana, through the National Health Insurance Agency, has provided health coverage for dialysis patients for six months.
The six-month period will begin in June and end in December 2024.
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This follows agitation from renal patients who say they have been overpriced out of lifesaving renal treatment after the government removed subsidies on medical consumables, leading to the cost of treatment ballooning.
In fulfilment of a promise to the renal patients, the government, during the 20th-anniversary celebration of the NHIA, announced the inclusion of dialysis treatment in the national health scheme.
During the six months, patients aged below 18 and above 60 will receive all eight free dialysis sessions per month.
The government says the cost of dialysis for this group of patients, considered the most vulnerable, is projected to be GH₵329,952 per month. By December, the cumulative cost is projected to be approximately GH₵2.3 million.
Patients aged 18 to 59 from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Efia Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH), Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH), and Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) will receive two dialysis sessions per month at GH₵982, that is GH₵491 per session.
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, however, is exempted from the above.
The cost of treatment for this group of patients is projected to be GH₵144,354 per month and GH₵1.01million for six months.
The Korle Bu case
Concerning Korle Bu, the government says because patients there already benefit from a philanthropic subsidy of GH₵380 per session, the government would only contribute GH₵491 per month to such patients.
This means the government would be paying only half of their cost per session in a month.
This, the government argues, ensures an equitable distribution of resources across the country for renal patients.
The total cost for this category is projected to be GH₵147,300 per month and GH₵1.03 million at the end of the year.
The funds for the six-month project would be extracted from the NHIA's Corporate Social Responsibility fund and the Government of Ghana.
In total, the government would spend GH₵4.4 million to sponsor the initiative.
Parliament admits it wrongfully increased dialysis fees
YEN.com.gh reported that the Parliament of Ghana says it wrongly approved the hike in dialysis fees from GH¢380 to GH¢491.
It noted that the mistake stemmed from errors in the document presented by the Finance Ministry.
Parliament assured Ghanaians that the mistake would be corrected as soon as possible to ease the burden on renal patients.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
