Government must Uncap 25 per cent National Health Insurance Levy to NHIS – Report

The Ghana NCD Alliance has launched a report: 'The Financial Burden of Care for People Living with Non-Communicable Diseases in Ghana' with a call on the government to uncap the 25 per cent National Health Insurance Levy to allow for upward adjustment.The report said the current percentage of the National Health Insurance Scheme was inadequate to address health financing, particularly on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.The document, which would guide all stakeholders in addressing the challenges, among its recommendations, called for the intensification of education on NCDs by government health agencies.Also, government should consider the establishment of geriatric centres to ensure quality care for the aged living with the diseases and that health facility managements should ensure that triaging and prioritization of care are observed by care givers.The rest were the improvement of the national health insurance coverage relative to coverage expansion to include procedures, tests, an d treatment required to improve the health of people living with NCDs.Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director, Public Health Service, and the chairman for the occasion, who launched the report urged the citizenry to join forces to address NCDs challenges in the country.'I think that as a country we need to appreciate that NCDs are chronic in nature and to be able to address them we need to join forces together.'Fighting NCDs is not just government, is about all players, structures, the media, CSOs, NGOs, community, person, so we all need to address it together and then we need to mobilize resources together.'Dr Asiedu-Bekoe urged the public to adopt the best practices, saying 'The government can do its part, but you as an individual what are you doing to modify your lifestyle - so to address the burden is a collective in nature.''NCDs are a killer and has a very profound effect on the nation- I think that our main killers at the hospitals are the NCDs and the data is saying that about 96,000 deaths occur red annually in Ghana.'But even in the height of COVID, we did not have these number of deaths occurring and yet the focus was more profound than this - I think in recent times we hear of dengue and we are even talking of Mpox, but we hardly hear any particular news on NCDs,' he stated.The Director said most Ghanaians, particularly after the age of 30, would have NCD or the other such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension and they are chronic diseases, which we need to appreciate and live with them in our lives.He said people living with the diseases must keep taking their medicine and avoid misconceptions, stating that; 'Because malaria is common and you take medicine and after three or four days you are fine, we have that same conception that if you have hypertension - after your first one month your BP must be normal, so you would not need any medication, that is one reason we have a lot of strokes in the country.'Dr Asiedu-Bekoe encouraged health workers to emphasize NCDs prevention at the service poi nt.He appreciated the Ghana NCD Alliance for the good work it did for the introduction of the sin-tax, saying: 'I think that the pressure you mounted was a critical factor that allowed us to achieve that singular feat.'I think what is left now is what do we make use of that available funds to achieve the good of health - so it is not just about making the money is about addressing supposed health issues.'He said as Ghana Health Service they were integrating NCDs care into their general health service delivery and what they hope to see was that at the very service level all health workers including CSOs and NGOs would come together to mobilize resources to address the diseases.'We are hoping that in that light we will be addressing the burden and the economic effects of the diseases in the country. COVID-19 showed that it is possible to collaborate, use technology and invest to save lives. We can also address NCDs together as a country,' he stated.Source: Ghana News Agency