NHIA Announces Free Dialysis Coverage – Policy Begins This Month
Dr Da-costa Aboagye, Acting Chief Executive Officer for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The Government of Ghana through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in its 20th Anniversary celebration is pleased to announce a significant enhancement to its health benefit coverage to include dialysis patients for a period of 6 months.
A statement signed by Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr Da-costa Aboagye said those to be covered by the new policy are the vulnerable groups (patients aged below 18 and above 60)
He noted that patients aged under 18 and above 60 years will receive all eight (8) free dialysis sessions per month under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) from June to December 2024
Details:
The cost of dialysis for these categories upon verification of the actual patients on the dialysis is projected to be GH¢329,952 per month and by the end of December 2024, the cumulative cost is estimated to be approximately GH¢2.3 million.
Patients from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Efia Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH), Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) and Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) except Korle Bu( See point 3), will receive two (2) dialysis sessions per month at GH¢982.00, that is, GH¢491 per session.
The cost of dialysis for this treatment category is projected to be GH¢144,354 per month and by the end of December 2024, the cumulative cost is estimated to be approximately GH¢1.01 million.
Korle Bu Case:
Patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) will receive a subsidy for two (2) dialysis sessions per month at GHS491.00, which is 50% of the cost per session (that is, GH¢245.50 * 2) due to a philanthropic gesture of GHS380.00 being offered to such patients to address equity across all facilities.
The cost of dialysis for this treatment category at KBTH is projected to be GH¢147,300 per month and by the end of December 2024, the cumulative cost is estimated to be approximately GH¢1.03 million.
Sources of Funding:
The Government of Ghana through Parliament approved an amount of Two Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,000,000.00) in the NHIAs 2024 Allocation Formula to support needy and vulnerable patients seeking dialysis treatment.
As part of NHIA’s 20th Anniversary, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) through administrative arrangements has allocated an additional Two Million, four hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,400,000.00), under the Corporate Social Responsibility approved budget of the scheme to support this initiative.
This means a total of approximately GH¢4.4 million is being invested to support this initiative.
The Government is committed to finding sustainable interventions to dealing with renal diseases and other illnesses not currently covered under the NHIS in a holistic manner, and will soon unveil a sustainable plan.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi.
