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The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has firmed up plans to include mental health treatment in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Benefit Package tentatively by the close of the first quarter of the year 2024.
The Chief Executive, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye dropped the hint at a meeting with some major stakeholders in Ghana’s health ecosystem on February 9, 2024.
The meeting was held at the NHIA Head Office where they discussed the outcomes of the assessment of the possibility of NHIS coverage of mental health disorders.
The stakeholders were from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mental Health Authority (MHA), Ghana Psychology Council (GPC) and the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).Dr. Okoe-Boye said inclusion of mental health treatment in the NHIS Benefit Package would be in fulfilment of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s absolute concern for persons suffering from mental illnesses.
For her part, Chairperson of the Ghana Psychology Council, Prof. Angela Ofori-Atta commended government and the NHIA the policy direction.She anticipated that inclusion of the mental health treatment to the NHIS Benefit Package will alleviate the plight of people suffering from bipolar, depression, anxiety, behavioral and emotional disorders.
The stakeholders concluded that inclusion of mental health treatment in the NHIS Benefit will help in reducing financial barriers to accessing healthcare.
Source: Hamdiya Amadu Yakubu
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