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A proposal by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) seeks to enact a policy to require all non resident visitors arriving in Ghana to be enrolled under a scheme through which they can access free health care. This policy seeks to ensure that all visitors have access to necessary healthcare services during their stay in Ghana.
The policy would affect visitors who arrive through the airports on visas or through visa on arrival, depending on their length of stay in the Ghana.
The Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye has issued a public statement that Cabinet has not yet approved a mandatory health insurance for non resident visitors, and that further information will be released as available.
In February 2024, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched the national health insurance policy for foreigners visiting Ghana for a short period.
The policy dubbed: “National Non-resident Visitors Health Insurance”, was developed by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and other partners who will jointly oversee its implementation.
The policy pertains specifically to non-residents visiting Ghana for a period of less than six months in any period of 12 months.
At a media briefing on the modalities of the policy before its roll-out, Dr Isaac Morrison, Vice Chairman, Technical Working Group on the Visitors Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) and Member of the NHIA Board, said the move had become necessary following lessons learnt from the COVID-19, where foreign nationals fell ill and the country had to take care of them as there was no insurance in place.
He said the issue therefore prompted the activation of Section 2b of the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (Act 852), which mandates the establishment of a health insurance policy for foreigners.
Currently, countries such as Sierra Leone and Egypt are implementing a similar scheme in Africa.
What are your thoughts about mandatory health insurance for non-resident visitors to Ghana? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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