Akyem Oda Member of Parliament and former Deputy Health Minister, Hon. Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has strongly criticized the government’s decision to fund the new Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares) through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He asserts that this financial strategy could bankrupt the NHIS, rendering it “dormant and torpid” and unable to fulfill its core mandate within the health sector.
Established by an Act of Parliament (Act 650) in 2003, the NHIS was designed to replace the “cash-and-carry” system and ensure equitable access to basic healthcare for all residents.
Over the decades, it has evolved into a vital pro-poor social intervention, reducing out-of-pocket expenses for the vulnerable and covering roughly 95% of disease conditions in Ghana.
The current administration, led by President John Dramani Mahama, recently launched the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares) and the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy.
MahamaCares aims to provide financial assistance for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) not currently covered by the NHIS, while the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy seeks to enhance primary healthcare delivery, particularly in rural areas.
The government estimates that at least GH₵1.2 billion will be required annually to implement the FPHC policy.
Speaking in an interview with Oman FM in Accra, Hon. Acquah dismissed the policies, specifically criticizing the decision to source funding from the already strained NHIS.
“They have launched MahamaCares and what they call Free Primary Healthcare, yet the irony is that they are going to use the NHIS to fund them. This will practically collapse the NHIS in due time,” Acquah stated.
He highlighted existing challenges, noting that hospitals already face significant delays in receiving NHIS disbursements.
“Subscribers are being turned away because payments are inadequate. What would prompt the government to use the NHIS to fund additional policies under these conditions?” he queried.
The Oda lawmaker further alleged that the FPHC policy is largely a “repackaged” version of the previous administration’s Free Annual Health Check programme, launched in August 2024.
He noted that the original programme provided blood pressure, blood sugar, and BMI screenings—elements he claims have been adopted for the new policy without proper attribution.
“President Mahama and the Health Minister want to prove they can create a policy, so they have given an existing initiative a new name and relaunched it for the same purpose,” Acquah alleged.
Instead of creating new funding burdens, Hon. Acquah suggested that the government reinvest the GH₵1.2 billion into the existing NHIS framework, enhance medical drone deliveries, and retool the ambulance service.
He also urged the government to prioritize the completion of Agenda 111 hospital projects across the 216 districts to ease pressure on major referral centres and reduce long queues.
According to the lawmaker, focusing on these areas would provide a more sustainable boost to Ghana’s healthcare delivery than the currently proposed initiatives.
By 1960news.com
