Dr. Aboagye Da-Costa, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has disclosed that his organization will begin providing planned funding for dialysis therapy on June 1.
On Wednesday, May 15, Dr. Da-Costa stated that the support would be in place for the ensuing six months during an appearance on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show.
This program comes after Parliament approved GH₵2 million to help people in different parts of the nation who need dialysis.
An estimated 1,300 people in Ghana receive dialysis, and a renal patient needs roughly 12 sessions each month. Since dialysis costs now GHS 491 instead of GH₵380 each session, a patient will need around GHS6,000 per month to cover the entire session.
The CEO of NHIA claims that a group made up of important parties, such as the medical directors and CEOs of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, decided how to allocate the monies.
He said that Dr. Nsiah Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health, was the chairperson and that he and the representative for dialysis patients were members.
We knew we could cover the whole cost of two sessions with the money we had. We will add the remaining balance to ensure that Korle Bu patients pay nothing for the two sessions because the philanthropy provides each patient with GH₵380.
He clarified the implementation strategy, saying, “To be fair, we decided to support them fully for two sessions as well. However, the patients at other facilities don’t get any support at all.”
He added that creating the required protocols is the last stage before implementing the support.
“I just need to create the BRG code so that people can use this service when they visit the hospitals or other facilities. We should implement this by June 1st, he confirmed, adding that the funds are available and still in the mechanism.
In response to a question concerning the initiative’s sustainability, Dr. Da-Costa expressed optimism that the government would have given the project more funding by the end of the sixth month.
