Promises On Paper, Burden in Reality: Fibroid Patients Question NHIS Coverage.

 

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Head Office: Ensuring citizens’ access to affordable healthcare.

Fibroids are silently draining the pockets of Ghanaian women, exposing a troubling gap between official health policy and the reality faced by patients. While the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) insists that fibroid treatment is fully covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), many women say they are still forced to pay thousands of cedis out of pocket, raising questions about accountability in Ghana’s healthcare system. 

 The NHIS, is a government entity under the auspices of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), responsible for financing healthcare services in Ghana. Its services are limited to government health facilities, where hospitals are reimbursed based on a tarrifs operational manual that outlines disease conditions and their costs. 

 NHIS Assurances  

 According to the A/Deputy Director of the Strategic Health Directorate, NHIA, Eunice N. Abban, the scheme covers all major aspects of fibroid surgery.

 She added that everything is bundled as one amount and paid to the facility provided to render services to patients who come in with fibroid conditions. 

 Patients’ Realities

Patience Dautey, who spent over GH 3,000 on surgery despite having an active NHIS card

 

For many women, the reality is starkly different. Patience Dautey, who underwent surgery at Tema General Hospital recounted: “I was told to have at least GH₵4,000 ready. I paid GH₵1,000 in the consulting room - no receipt," she recounted. "They said it was for the surgeon and nurses." Despite having an active insurance card, Patience spent over GH₵3,000 in total. "I kept asking myself why I had to spend all this while my health insurance was active," she said. 

 Another patient Diana Somuah Gyamfuah shared her ordeal: “As at 2020, I paid GH₵2,000 for my surgery. Families and a Good Samaritan had to come to my aid because I couldn’t raise the money. The government should come in and help us. Money is scarce.” She said.

 These testimonies highlight a troubling contradiction: despite NHIA’s assurances, patients continue to bear heavy financial burdens. 

 Advocacy Groups Speak Out

 The Fibroid Foundation Africa (FibFA), which has supported over 3,000 women since 2019, argues the policy is failing in practice. 

An Advocacy Group which serves as a leading voice highlighting a systematic failure of fibroid coverage in Ghana  SOURCE: FibFA Website

CEO, Rev Dr Elizabeth  Kosare asserted that while fibroids are listed as covered by the NHIS, women at major facilities like 37 Military or Ridge Hospital  still cannot access free surgery. " No woman can say she’s had surgery at any government hospital without paying. Women pay for everything - even the lint and cotton used for surgery," she noted, emphasizing that the policy must be better structured for women to truly benefit.

 The Accountability Gap

 This disconnect underscores a major accountability gap in Ghana’s healthcare. If the NHIA’s tariff manual covers these procedures, why are patients still paying thousands of cedis for basic supplies and "consulting room" fees?. Is the problem with NHIA’s policy, or with hospitals failing to implement it? Until this gap is bridged, fibroids will remain a silent epidemic, robbing Ghanaian women of their health and their life savings.

 A level 300 student production by Regina Deladem Kevi