Health Insurance Waiting Period For Persons 70years & Above Eliminated

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has eliminated the one-month waiting period for persons aged 70 years and over who will be enrolling on the scheme effective September 26, 2022.

This means that the earmarked age group can visit any NHIS-accredited health facility in the country and receive medical attention as soon as he/she registers on the national health insurance scheme.

This is in line with the government’s objective to accelerate the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and bridge the access equity gap, the NIA said in a statement.

“The scheme since its inception some 19 years ago introduced the mandatory one-month waiting period for all categories of members except pregnant women and children under 5 years who enrolled unto the scheme”, the Authority said, adding that it was to curb the abuse of the scheme by free-riders.

It added that “the policy affected persons aged 70 years and above from assessing instant healthcare on enrolling onto the scheme. During the mandatory one-month waiting period for these aged enrollees (Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pensioners), they are burdened with out-of-pocket payment in order to access healthcare until the 30 days waiting period is exhausted”.

In light of this, the Authority decided to eliminate the waiting period for the aged.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini