Renal Patients Association of Ghana has called on government to include renal care as part of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)
This comes after proposals for tax waivers on dialysis supplies were sparked by mounting worries about how many patients could not afford the expense of their care.
The association’s president, Baffuor Kojo Ahenkorah, stressed the importance of taking a calculated approach to solving the dialysis problem in an interview with Citi News.
He stated that, it is the responsibility of government to take charge of the cost of dialysis treatment as it is happening in several countries.
According to Ahenkorah, the issue lies in the high cost of consumables, particularly the expensive ones used by Korle-Bu. Therefore according to the association’s president, including dialysis in the NHIS is the best approach.
“All I can say is that the government is supposed to take charge of dialysis. Other countries are doing it, but the problem is that the consumables are very expensive, and the kind of consumables that Korle-Bu uses are very expensive. The best way is for the government to include it in the NHIS,”Mr Baffour said.
Mr Baffour went on to reveal that, National Health Insurance contributions goes into the consolidated fund. But sometimes, complete disbursements for health coverage aren’t made.
“The point is that when they pay the National Health Insurance, it goes to the consolidated fund, and sometimes they don’t make full disbursements for health coverage. That’s why you see the scheme not being functional at some health facilities. Once they include dialysis treatment in the scheme and make full disbursements for it, I believe it can be achieved. Some countries on the continent are doing it, and nothing should prevent us from doing it too,” he disclosed.