Dr. Anthony Gingong, a specialist in health insurance payment mechanisms, has criticized calls for renal dialysis to be covered by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
He argued that the integration of kidney dialysis could collapse the NHIS.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently asked the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Authority to work out modalities to add kidney dialysis to the NHIA.
However, Dr. Gingong believes that the inclusion of kidney treatment could further burden the already financially challenged insurance fund, which is grappling with substantial debts to healthcare service providers.
In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Gingong believes the inclusion of kidney treatment could further burden the already financially challenged insurance fund, which is grappling with substantial debts to healthcare service providers.
In an interview with Citi News, Dr. Gingong said: “I got a bit more disturbed when I read the President has ordered the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Authority to work out modalities to add kidney dialysis to the NHIA package of services. Personally, I’m deeply worried, because it’s the root of the collapse NHIS. Introduction of policy, we look at it from both the scientific and the art perspectives. You don’t respond to public demand just by an administrative or executive fiat without looking at its implications. The NHIA Act looked critically and realised that conditions of primary concern constituted over 80% of the disease burden of this country. Those conditions are those that generally come to the Out-Patient Department.”
Dr. Gingong raised concerns about this move, indicating that the health insurance scheme may meet the fate of the Common Fund, which has been diverted to fund activities unrelated to its primary purpose.
He called for a comprehensive restructuring of the fund, emphasizing the need to review administrative costs related to the scheme.
He suggested that the government should establish a dedicated fund to address critical healthcare issues, a step that would significantly benefit Ghanaians while simultaneously ensuring the sustainability of the health insurance fund.
Dr. Gingong said: “We have not reviewed our funding source, clearly, we are collapsing the fund. They need to check the administrative expenditure of NHIS. The Common Fund is not able to solve any problems, and that is exactly what we are going to do with the NHIS fund. The President and his team should sit again and look at instituting a fund for cancers, kidney dialysis, sickle cell.”
