Reports Outline Health Insurance Study Findings from University of Amsterdam (A Review of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana: What Are the…

Reports Outline Health Insurance Study Findings from University of Amsterdam (A Review of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana: What Are the Sustainability Threats and Prospects?)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Fresh data on Health Insurance are presented in a new report. According to news reporting originating from Amsterdam, Netherlands, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "The introduction of the national health insurance scheme (NHIS) in Ghana in 2003 significantly contributed to improved health services utilization and health outcomes. However, stagnating active membership, reports of poor quality health care rendered to NHIS-insured clients and cost escalations have raised concerns on the operational and financial sustainability of the scheme."

Financial support for this research came from The Netherlands government (WOTRO).

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Amsterdam, "This paper reviewed peer reviewed articles and grey literature on the sustainability challenges and prospects of the NHIS in Ghana. Electronic search was done for literature published between 2003-2016 on the NHIS and its sustainability in Ghana. A total of 66 publications relevant to health insurance in Ghana and other developing countries were retrieved from Cochrane, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Googlescholar for initial screening. Out of this number, 31 eligible peer reviewed articles were selected for final review based on specific relevance to the Ghanaian context. Ability of the NHIS to continue its operations in Ghana is threatened financially and operationally by factors such as: cost escalation, possible political interference, inadequate technical capacity, spatial distribution of health facilities and health workers, inadequate monitoring mechanisms, broad benefits package, large exemption groups, inadequate client education, and limited community engagement. Moreover, poor quality care in NHIS-accredited health facilities potentially reduces clients' trust in the scheme and consequently decreases (re)enrolment rates. These sustainability challenges were reviewed and discussed in this paper. The NHIS continues to play a critical role towards attaining universal health coverage in Ghana albeit confronted by challenges that could potentially collapse the scheme."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Averting this possible predicament will largely depend on concerted efforts of key stakeholders such as health insurance managers, service providers, insurance subscribers, policy makers and political actors."

For more information on this research see: A Review of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana: What Are the Sustainability Threats and Prospects? Plos One, 2016;11(11):e0165151. (Public Library of Science - www.plos.org; Plos One - www.plosone.org)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting R.K. Alhassan, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Additional authors for this research include E. Nketiah-Amponsah and D.K Arhinful.

Keywords for this news article include: Europe, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Health Insurance, Insurance Companies.

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2017, NewsRx LLC