Demand for Health Insurance in Ghana: What Factors Influence Enrollment?

Abstract

In 2003, there was a paradigm shift in Ghana's quest for a more humane, affordable and reliable mechanism of financing healthcare with the introduction of the national health insurance scheme. The scheme was to replace the hitherto obnoxious Cash and Carry System of paying for health care at the point of service, and to provide a better and much more humane financial arrangement that will enable the citizens to access health care service without having to pay at the point of service delivery and also ensure an improvement in the quality of basic health. This study employed descriptive statistics-Logit and Probit Models to investigate the factors that influence Ghanaians to enroll with the scheme. The results from the logit and probit models indicate that sex, marital status and cost of curative care were strong factors in influencing one's decision to join the scheme. Again the marginal effects and odd ratios gave a further indication that factors such as individuals' income, higher levels of education and poor ill health among others also influence Ghanaians to join the scheme. This research is of the view that any public education aimed at increasing enrollment should be guided by these factors.