ASSESSING STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTION ON THE EFFECTS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME (NHIS) ON SUSTAINABLE HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY: THE CASE OF SUNTRESO GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL (SGH), KUMASI

Abstract

The core mandate of government was to use the NHIS to provide equitable access to basic healthcare services without using Out-of-Pocket (OOP) payment. The national health insurance scheme, which is at work, now was enacted by the National Health Insurance Act of 2003 under the then incumbent government headed by His Excellency John Agyekum Kuffuor. The insurance Act is to allow Ghanaians to access healthcare services without paying physical cash. The driving goal of the Act was to achieve universal healthcare coverage in five years’ time. The primary purpose of the study is to ascertain the overall perceptions of staff and patients on the effects of the implementation of NHIS at Suntreso Government Hospital in Kumasi. The population of the study comprised of subscribers, NHIS officials and private hospitals in the Kumasi metropolis. Overall, 250 questionnaires were distributed to the three group of respondents using structured questionnaires. However, 239 usable ones were received recording 95.6% response rate. The data were analysed using SPSS Version 23. Generally, the study found that, the NHIS was effective. All the respondents were aware of NHIS through the following medium; radio and television, family and friends, seminars and meetings and others through the Internet and newspaper. The study found that most respondents were willing to participate in the NHIS and support its implementation and sustainability. However, the study revealed that respondents were less satisfied with the availability of health personnel, quality of basic amenities and the attitude of health personnel. The study uncovered that, long distance, high cost of transportation poor attitude of officials and long queue were challenges during registering with the scheme. The study concludes that NHIS based on these findings have achieved some of it objectives. The study recommends improvement in the scheme in order to enhance health care delivery in Ghana.