Ministry of Health to implement NHIS policy for foreigners; What You Should Know

By 1st July, 2024, the Ministry of Health would implement a national health insurance policy scheme for foreigners visiting Ghana for short periods.

On 1st July 2024, the national health insurance policy scheme would target only non-resident foreigners visiting the country for less than six months within a year.

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This NHIS policy for foreigners was developed in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and other agencies, the policy is labelled “National Non-resident Visitors Health Insurance”.

In a media engagement ahead of its implementation, key stakeholders including the Ministry of Health (MOH), NHIA, and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) were involved.

In engaging the media to enhance the policy’s popularity and awareness, key stakeholders including the Ministry of Health (MOH), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) were present.

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This new policy for foreigners aligns with the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (Act 852), which mandates the provision of quality and accessible healthcare for both residents and non-residents in Ghana under a national health insurance scheme to ensure equitable access to health services.

The policy consist of six tiers based on the duration of stay in the country.

It focuses on foreigners with visas, and provisions are in place for those requiring visas on arrival to ensure they are included in the scheme.

However, members from the ECOWAS are currently not part of this policy as measures are being developed to incorporate them into the scheme in the future.

The Ministry of Health under the leadership of Dr. Agyeman Manu as health minister launched the policy on February 2024.

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He indicated that “The scheme will be the main vehicle for the delivery of robust healthcare services to non-residents who will be travelling to Ghana.

“Taking into consideration the peculiar characteristics and nature of the NNRVHIS, a special purpose arrangement may be required to minimise the potential for risks,” he explained.

“In line with this, a National Non-Resident Visitors Health Insurance Technology Platform (NNRVHITP) will be established to enable non-resident visitors to remotely log into a digital platform and apply accordingly in the comfort of their respective countries without challenges, thereby improving user experience.”

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