Dr Dacosta Aboagye, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Ghana, has announced a strategic decision to procure Ghana Cards instead of NHIS Membership cards for children aged 6 to 14 years. This move, endorsed by the Health Committee of Parliament, aims to achieve significant cost savings and enhance efficiency in healthcare delivery.
The decision comes as the NHIA anticipates substantial savings in the medium to long term by opting for Ghana Cards, aligning with the government's digitalization agenda and integration efforts between NHIS data and the National Identification Authority (NIA).
Under this plan, the NHIA intends to purchase six million Ghana Cards for children aged six to fourteen years, with an initial budget approval of Three Million Ghana Cedis (GH₵3 million) from Parliament, subject to a mid-year review and progress evaluation.
Dr Aboagye emphasized that the estimated cost of producing NHIS cards, ranging from $4 to $6 (equivalent to GHS 54 to 81 cedis), influenced the decision in favour of Ghana Cards. Moreover, Ghana Cards offer a longer validity period of 10 years compared to the 5-year validity of NHIS cards, thus providing extended benefits for healthcare services.
While NHIA is mandated to provide NHIS cards for children, Dr Aboagye clarified that enrolling children on Ghana Cards instead would yield long-term cost savings and streamline data integration with the NIA. This strategic shift underscores NHIA's commitment to maximizing resources and improving healthcare accessibility and quality for all beneficiaries.