Dr Benard Okoe Boye, Minister of Health, says a plan to introduce mandatory health insurance for non-Ghanaian resident visitors is a proposal from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and “not a government policy”.
A statement issued Monday, said the policy “has not been discussed or approved by Cabinet” and that the public should disregard information that the policy had been finalised and was ready for implementation.
“While the proposal aims to ensure that foreign nationals have access to healthcare during their stay in Ghana, it is important to note that it has not yet been discussed or approved by Cabinet.
“We assure the public that any policy and its implementation shall be thoroughly scrutinised and taken through all necessary protocols to establish its benefits for the people of Ghana before being settled on,” the Ministry said.
Reports last weekend indicated that the Health Ministry and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) were working towards the rolling out of a Visitor Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS), effective July 1, 2024.
It will require non-residents on a visit to Ghana to sign onto a health insurance scheme which will cover them during the period of stay in the country.
Members of a Technical Working Committee, who made this known, said the policy was in line with section 2(b) of the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (852).
Dr. Isaac Charles Noble Morrison, Vice Chair of the Technical Working Committee and a member of the NHIA Board, said there had been stakeholder engagement on the policy which would be implemented in phases.
He said the technical working group included the Ministry of the Interior, Ghana Immigration Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Tour Operators, and “anybody who has something to do with visitors coming into the country.”
Dr Morrison said the technical committee had engaged various Ghanaian consular missions abroad who made input towards implementation of the policy.
