Effective July 2024, children aged six to 14 will receive Ghana Cards free of charge.

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) will cover the cost for approximately three million children, enabling them to link their cards with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for primary health care access.

The NHIA will allocate GH¢245 million to the National Identification Authority (NIA) for this initiative.

Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye, the NHIA CEO, revealed this at a workshop in Kumasi, explaining that this measure is part of the authority's efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC).

Children aged zero to five are already issued Ghana Cards at birth, and NHIS members aged 15 and above receive Ghana Cards, facilitating the linkage of NHIS cards to the Ghana Card.

Currently, nearly 900,000 of the one million active SSNIT contributors on the NHIS have linked their cards, with another 1.3 million undergoing data cleaning.

Dr. Aboagye emphasized that issuing Ghana Cards to children under 15 will enhance membership data and integrity by linking it to the NIA database, saving costs on procuring biometric cards.

The NHIS cards cost between $4 and $6, whereas the Ghana Card costs between $6 and $7, making it financially sensible to consolidate the two cards.

The NHIA Board decided to have the NIA print cards, linking NHIS subscriber numbers to the Ghana Card for primary health care access under the NHIS.

Additionally, the NHIA plans to introduce preventive healthcare programs focusing on hypertension, diabetes, and body mass index check-ups. Wellness centers and clinics will be established, and NHIS members will receive annual text messages on their birthdays, encouraging health check-ups at government hospitals at the scheme's expense.

For non-resident Ghanaians, the NHIA is seeking advice from the Attorney-General and Cabinet approval to issue NHIS cards.

NHIA Board Chairman, Dr. Ernest Quarcoo, highlighted the importance of health insurance for national development and called for media support to enhance the scheme for vulnerable populations.

William Omane-Adjekum, NHIA Deputy Director of Quality Assurance, reported a GH¢9.5 million savings from fraudulent claims last year due to the digital payment platform, which uses Artificial Intelligence to detect fraud and errors in real time.

Deputy Director in charge of Claims, Theophilus Owusu-Ansah, stated that the NHIA handles between GH¢20 million and GH¢30 million in claims annually, covering free maternal care, breast/cervical cancers, and family planning. Hypertension, diabetes, and maternity care are the largest cost drivers.

NHIA Deputy Director of the Information Management System, Joseph Annor, noted that 30 million Ghanaians are enrolled in the NHIS, with 17.9 million active members.

The NHIS has evolved from issuing booklets to using smart biometric cards.