ArticlePloS one2021
Positioning the National Health Insurance for financial sustainability and Universal Health Coverage in Ghana: A qualitative study among key stakeholders.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Experiences of Strategic Purchasing of Healthcare in Nine Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Qualitative Review.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Pooled it
- Domestic resources for surgical care financing: a descriptive analysis of global health expenditure trends and illustrative case studies on fiscal mechanisms in LMICs.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Improving treatment outcomes in Ghana with agent-based model for diabetes patients' self-management behaviours.Health care management science · 2026Article
- Ghana's Diagnosis Related Grouping (G-DRG) tariffs versus hospital charges: implications for inpatient care financing at a secondary hospital in Ghana.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2026Article
- The relationship between rural residence and cervical cancer screening in three sub-Saharan countries with different national screening policies.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Catastrophic health payments in Ghana post-National Health Insurance Scheme implementation: an analysis of service-specific health expenditures.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Article
- Charting the path to the implementation of universal health coverage policy in Nigeria through the lens of Delphi methodology.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Health care provider payment reforms in African states of the Commonwealth-a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- 'The national health insurance policy provides little to no benefit to young persons living with type 1 diabetes (T1D)': a qualitative study of T1D management cost-burden in Southern Ghana.Health economics review · 2024Article
- Infant mortality in Ghana: investing in health care infrastructure and systems.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
- Assessment of Knowledge of Health Economics among Healthcare Professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Challenges in accessing patient-centered care and patient empowerment in selected Ghanaian hospitals.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2024Article
- An assessment of out of pocket payments in public sector health facilities under the free maternal healthcare policy in Ghana.Health economics review · 2023Article
- Preferences on Policy Options for Ensuring the Financial Sustainability of Healthcare Services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2023Article
- Medication adherence and blood pressure control: A preliminary assessment of the role of health insurance in Nigeria and Ghana.SAGE open medicine · 2023Article
- Financial viability of a community-based health insurance scheme in two districts of northeast Ethiopia: a mixed methods study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Social innovations to increase health coverage: evidence from a crowdsourcing contest in Ghana.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Improving health and social care services for slum-dwelling older adults: Perspectives of health professionals.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in 2003 to reduce "out-of-pocket" payments for health care in Ghana. Over a decade of its implementation, issues about the financial sustainability of this pro-poor policy remains a crippling fact despite its critical role to go towards Universal Health Coverage. We therefore conducted this study to elicit stakeholders' views on ways to improve the financial sustainability of the operations of NHIS.
methodsTwenty (20) stakeholders were identified from Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Services, health workers groups, private medical practitioners, civil society organizations and developmental partners. They were interviewed using an interview guide developed from a NHIS policy review and analysis. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed thematically with the aid of NVivo 12 software.
resultsStakeholders admitted that the NHIS is currently unable to meet its financial obligations. The stakeholders suggested first the adoption of capitation as a provider payment mechanism to minimize the risk of providers' fraud and protection from political interference. Secondly, they indicated that rapid releases of specific statutory deductions and taxes for NHIS providers could reduce delays in claims' reimbursement which is one of the main challenges faced by healthcare providers. Aligning the NHIS with the Community-based Health Planning and Services and including preventive and promotive health is necessary to position the Scheme for Universal Health Coverage.
conclusionThe Scheme will potentially achieve UHC if protected from political interference to improve the governance and transparency that affects the finances of the scheme and the expansion of services to include preventive and promotive services and cancers.
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