Member of Parliament for Juaboso Constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed that the National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) move to provide free dialysis sessions for kidney patients under 18 and over 60 years old is a wishy-washy approach that won’t work.
The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee said the government is only engaged in lofty promises that do not have a long-term future.
“The patients deserve better and the government can come in [to help]. If you look at the payment or the purchase of vaccines, sometimes the National Health Insurance pays something and the government will also come in to pay counterpart funding, so this is not sustainable,” he told the media.
Mintah Akandoh alleged that the decision to support dialysis patients is a campaign strategy. He said if the government’s true intention is to help then the fee should be reduced instead.
“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,” Akandoh noted.
Mintah Akandoh’s comment follows the announcement that the NHIA would pay for the dialysis of persons under 18 years and above 60 years. Patients, aged 19 to 59 would be given two free sessions each month from June to December 2024.