I no longer use NHIS card; I pay when I go to hospital - Health Minister laments

Minister of Health, Kweku Agyemang Manu has revealed that he pays cash whenever he visits the hospital despite being on the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He mentioned specifically that visits to the Ridge Hospital and the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) have seen him pay cash after receiving the necessary service.

"I pay when I go to Ridge Hospital. I pay when I go to UGMC. I don’t even present my insurance card…," he told a meeting of Ghana Health Service Senior Managers on Tuesday, April 18, 2023,

Agyemang-Manu expressed his dissatisfaction with certain service providers under Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), whom he accuses of extortion.

“There are complaints that are coming about how those who are subscribed to health insurance are treated in almost all our facilities. So why shouldn’t we use the harsh word… extorting from the poor patients.

He lamented how poor subscribers are being overcharged and denied necessary services that they have already paid for.

“From the end-user point of view, it looks like the health insurance is not working. I am a patient and I know what it is,” he said.