The cost of dialysis sessions for kidney patients in Ghana has become a focal point of national concern, especially since last year’s sharp increase in treatment prices.
This spike has cast a shadow over the lives of many, exacerbating the financial strain and emotional trauma experienced by renal patients and their families.
The Renal Patients Association of Ghana has repeatedly voiced their distress, highlighting how the steep costs of dialysis have devastated families, compelling them to make heart-wrenching decisions about their health and finances.
NHIS’s Six Months Free Dialysis Session for Vulnerable Group
Amidst this backdrop, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) announced a social intervention aimed at alleviating the financial burden for vulnerable individuals suffering from kidney diseases.
Under this initiative, the government pledged to cover the cost of eight dialysis sessions each month for renal patients aged below eighteen and above 65 years.
The initiative also aimed to provide two dialysis sessions for 147 patients aged between 18 and 59 in all public hospitals offering dialysis services, except for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where a philanthropist is already subsidizing costs.
However, this announcement has sparked scepticism and controversy with Renowned Pharmacist, Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, disputing the NHIS’s claims of having the financial capacity to sustain its ambitious intervention for six months.
The Democracy and Development Fellow at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), in challenging NHIS’s calculations, described it as fundamentally flawed and grossly underestimating the actual cost involved.
Dialysis Cost Exceeds NHIS’s Budget
Dr. Sarpong recounted that there are only 73 beneficiaries under the age of eighteen and above 65, representing less than ten per cent of the 1,034 individuals on renal dialysis in Ghana.
He underscored that the government would require GHC 7,455,344 to cater for these 73 patients alone, a figure far exceeding the NHIS’s budget.
“Based on the Fees and Charges Committee in Parliament, the cost of dialysis per session is GHC 491. With each of the 73 patients needing eight sessions per month, the monthly requirement totals 584 sessions. Over six months, this amounts to 15,184 sessions, translating to an expenditure of GHC 7,455,344”.
Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, Renowned Pharmacist & CDD-Ghana D&D Fellow
Dr Sarpong further emphasized that Parliament-approved funding of GHC 2 million to the National Health Insurance Authority falls drastically short, covering merely six and a half weeks of dialysis for the 73 most vulnerable patients.
This stark discrepancy, he noted reveals a shortfall of GHC 5.5 million, rendering the NHIS’s promise of six months of free dialysis unsustainable and misleading.
“If you subtract the approved Parliament money of Ghc2 million from the amount they will need to cater for the six months of dialysis, which is almost Ghc7.5 million, there is a shortfall of Ghc5.5 million”.
Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, Renowned Pharmacist & CDD-Ghana D&D Fellow
Dr. Sarpong’s analysis brings to light the dire financial gap and the pressing need for a realistic and viable funding strategy.
Echoing Dr Sarpong’s concerns, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee expressed grave doubts over the NHIS’s capacity to fulfill its commitment.
The National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Juaboso underscored the urgent necessity for the government to explore more sustainable and reliable funding mechanisms for dialysis treatment, stressing the critical need for immediate action to prevent further suffering among kidney patients and their families.
“It is only for six months and it is so because we are in the election period. All this while we have not heard the vice president speak about this.
“It is political because after December, there is no plan, so you go back to paying what you used to pay. And in actual fact, it has increased from GH¢380 to GH¢491”.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee &MP Juaboso Constituency
In light of the above, while the NHIS’s initiative is a step in the right direction, it falls significantly short of addressing the actual needs of renal patients as earlier intimated by Dr Kwame Asiedu Sarpong and Honorable Minta Akandoh.
It is therefore imperative for the government to take swift measures to bridge the funding gap and provide a sustainable framework for dialysis treatment, ensuring that no Ghanaian is left to suffer due to financial constraints.
The situation demands urgent intervention from the government and its agencies, particularly the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Authority.
It is imperative to devise and implement sustainable funding solutions that can ensure continuous and affordable dialysis treatment for all renal patients in Ghana.
Without such measures, the promise of free dialysis remains a hollow gesture, failing to address the profound and escalating crisis faced by those battling kidney disease in the country.
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