President Mahama warns health facilities against charging NHIS patients extra fees
President John Dramani Mahama has warned health facilities against charging patients additional fees for services covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), insisting that institutions found engaging in the practice will face sanctions.
He said government would not tolerate situations where patients present their NHIS cards but are still required to make additional payments before receiving healthcare services.
Addressing the 68th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Medical Association, President Mahama disclosed that he had received complaints about some health facilities demanding extra payments from NHIS subscribers despite the services being covered by the scheme.
“I have received complaints that, despite patients presenting their NHIS cards, some facilities still demand money from them before providing services,” he stated.
He said the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) had begun monitoring exercises across health facilities to identify institutions engaging in the practice.
“The NHIA is conducting monitoring exercises from facility to facility. Any facility found charging patients additional fees outside the approved insurance arrangements will be dealt with,” President Mahama warned.
The President said the government was taking steps to strengthen the financial position of the NHIS to ensure that healthcare providers receive more predictable payments and can sustain services without placing additional financial burdens on patients.
He disclosed that the 2026 Budget allocated approximately GH¢11.3 billion in transfers to the National Health Insurance Fund, including GH¢2.26 billion for the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
According to him, uncapping the NHIS Fund is helping to make financing more reliable, while the NHIA has introduced monthly payments for submitted and vetted claims by healthcare providers.
President Mahama also announced that service tariffs under the scheme had been increased by 50 per cent since August 2026, a move intended to improve the ability of health facilities to procure essential supplies and maintain quality healthcare delivery.
“These measures provide greater predictability for health facilities to procure supplies and sustain services to the public,” he said.
He stressed that protecting the improvements in healthcare financing would require continued vigilance against fraud, waste and abuse of the insurance system.
President Mahama further urged healthcare providers to ensure that resources allocated to the scheme are used responsibly and that patients receive the services to which they are entitled.
He said the government’s broader healthcare reforms, including Free Primary Healthcare, the uncapped NHIS and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, were designed to establish a more reliable healthcare system that reduces the financial burden on Ghanaians and improves access to quality medical services.
