The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye, has detailed his strategies to enhance healthcare accessibility for members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV, the NHIA Chief Executive underscored the importance of early detection of non-communicable diseases, which have been causing numerous deaths in Ghana.
He announced that under his leadership, NHIS members in Ghana will receive a one-time medical service on their birthdays, with reminders sent to their mobile phones.
“Within the primary healthcare space, there’s a critical component that has been missing for a very long time. It’s been funded through vertical programmes, but I think when we mainstream it, it’s going to help the Promotive Preventive Benefit Package. Since the inception of the Scheme, we have not considered this. That concept entails preventing diseases before they happen. There’s no social insurance scheme or a national insurance scheme that will survive if the determinants of health are not funded.
“There’s a rise in non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, and hypertension, how do we position ourselves as a country in such a way that we reduce the cases in their worst form? This approach focuses on wellness, how do we ensure that within a life course approach, Ghanaians will have the best healthcare right from infancy to growing up? Within the Promotive Preventive Benefit Package under my leadership, NHIS will be offering a one-time medical check annually for each citizen to detect the diseases early,” he told host Umaru Sanda Amadu.
He mentioned that they will collaborate with the telcos to send notifications to registered members on their birthdays to encourage them to visit the nearest health facilities.
“We will be working with the telcos in such a way that we send text messages to every Ghanaian or those on our database. When it is their birthdays, they should go to various health facilities to have a basic medical check defined by the NHIA for free.
“We have seed money approved by Parliament and I’m hoping that as early as next month [May], we can start,” he said.
He explained that his proposal which forms part of his 4-point agenda of transforming the NHIS, is aimed at addressing equity, achieving universal coverage and increasing membership.
“My proposal will boost membership, address the equity component of giving access to every Ghanaian, and achieve universal health coverage.”
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