The Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign (UAHCC) has welcomed the review of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to make it more sustainable. The Campaign believes the review process will make the NHIS more robust, as issues of delay in reimbursement, fraud and wastage will be addressed and Ghana can achieve Universal Health Coverage.
Inaugurating the seven-man technical committee in Accra, the Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, said the restructuring which is the first ever since the Scheme was set-up, will propose options for reform of the NHIS.
He stated that “in the growth and expansion of the NHIS, it is time to explore all other options of sustaining the scheme in the context of the health system. This will require taking a holistic look at the Scheme to determine where weaknesses exist and propose solutions".
"The review process will seek to provide answers to questions such as the current status of the scheme in terms of its financial sustainability, what factors have contributed to the status quo, what needs to be done to bring permanent resolution to the issues identified and which persons or institutions need to take action and what resources are required for execution”, the minister added.
A press release signed by the National Campaign Coordinator of UAHCC, Archibald Adams, said “though the NHIS has made great progress, the current national coverage rate is only 38% and any effort by the government to review and strengthen the NHIS is a welcome news. We have confidence in the ability of the members of the Committee to deliver and we will want to know of their recommendations when the work of the committee is over.”
Mr. Adams encouraged the Committee to undertake the review process with Ghanaians in mind especially women, children and the disabled and urged them to identify innovative means of financially sustaining the scheme. He added that, a financially sustained and a reliable NHIS will give access to healthcare to all Ghanaians without any financial barrier and address the inequalities in the Health Sector. It will also save the numerous needless death recorded each year.