Dr. Aboagye Da-Costa, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) boss has stated that, from June 1, 2024, dialysis patients are going to receive support from the Insurance authority.
There has been a surge in kidney cases which has given rise to the need for dialysis each passing day. It is said that, about one thousand three hundred (1300) Ghanaians are put on dialysis treatment with renal sessions being twelve in a month.
It is recalled that, the Renal Unit at the Korlebu Teaching Hospital increased the cost of Dialysis from GHC 380 to GHS 491 per session. This supposes that, each patient will need approximately GHS 6,000 to undergo a full session.
This alarming issue necessitated a Parliamentary approval of GHC 2 million to assist dialysis patients foot the bills.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, May 15, Dr. Da-Costa noted that the support would be implemented for the next six months.
Dr. Da-Costa stated that allocated funds was decided by a committee chaired by Dr. Nsiah Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health together with major stakeholders including the CEOs and medical directors of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
He said, “Based on the money that we had, we knew that we could support two sessions at full cost. For Korle Bu, there is a philanthropy that supports each patient with GH₵380 so we will add the remaining balance so that they don’t pay anything for the two sessions.
“However, the patients at other facilities don’t get any support at all, and to be fair, we decided to support them fully for two sessions as well,” he explained the modality of implementation.
He added that, the necessary mechanisms needed to be put in place before rolling out the support initiative will be fast-tracked.
“All I need now is to develop the BRG code so that when the patients go to the hospitals or facilities they can access this support. The money is available, it is left with the mechanism so by June 1 we should roll this out," he confirmed.
He assured the general public of government’s preparedness in supporting dialysis patients, adding that, after the six months, extra funds would be solicited to sustain the initiative.