Mahama collapsed NHIS but NPP revived it with free treatment for childhood cancer, other 'killer' diseases — Bawumia 

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has highlighted his party’s efforts to strengthen Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which he says was left in disrepair by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Speaking to stakeholders in Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Bawumia said the NHIS was introduced under former President John Agyekum Kufuor's NPP government, only for it to face setbacks under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, which had promised a one-time premium but failed to deliver effectively.

Dr. Bawumia stated that when the NPP took office, they met “virtually collapsed” NHIS.

Since then, he indicated that the NPP government has worked to inject substantial funding and expanded the scheme’s scope.

"The National Health Insurance Scheme was virtually collapsed under Mahama, but we have revived and strengthened it. We have put in so much money... Today, sicknesses that were not covered under the NHIS are now included," he said.

Dr. Bawumia noted that “for the first time, childhood cancer treatments are now covered under the NHIS, providing free care for young cancer patients.”

He announced that the NPP had successfully negotiated to add hydroxyurea to medication covered by NHIS, an effective but costly drug for sickle cell patients, now offered free of charge under the scheme.

The NPP flagbearer also shared that following a successful pilot program, the NHIS will expand to cover free kidney dialysis for individuals under 18 and over 60 beginning December 1, 2024.