Assessing financial sustainability of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana Case Study: Mpohor Wassa East Mutual Health Insurance Scheme

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Date
2011
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Abstract
The study was conducted in Mpohor Wassa East National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the western region to assess the financial sustainability of the scheme. A content validated questionnaire, interview guide and observation techniques were used to seek the needed information from the scheme management in the District, the accredited provider and the NHIS clients. The research design used in this study was descriptive research. The targeted population for the study was the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Mpohor Wassa East District, providers and clients in the Mpohor Wassa East District and the sampling technique used was simple random and quota sampling. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) through descriptive analysis and frequency distribution table. The main finding of the study indicated that about 95% of the claims payment is being financed by the government through taxes levied on the Ghanaian in the form of VAT system. The study also revealed that the scheme incurs high administrative cost which increased in an alarming rate. Again, the study showed that, the internal generated fund for the scheme is not encouraging. However, the study finally revealed that government needs to increase the NHIL so as to mitigate the low premium and registration fee being paid by the subscribers. It was concluded that, proper internal control procedures should be adhere to in the scheme to check expenditures. Again, since the internal generated funds are is not encouraging, the scheme manager should intensify education to attract more members to register. Also, government should continue its support for the scheme in whatever way possible and practicable. However Mpohor Wassa East Mutual Health Insurance Scheme cannot sustain financially without government support (subsidies). Finally capacity building and refresher courses should be organized for both providers and the scheme to minimize waste in the scheme. And the clients in the communities should be educated on the usage of the NHIS Card in accessing the health care to reduce cost per attendance.
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A Thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration,
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