Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic for Health Financing System in Ghana

Abstract

This article examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health financing system in Ghana. The COVID-19 pandemic presents two different crises—a health crisis and an economic crisis, and these have implications for the health financing system in Ghana. The pandemic is likely to have adverse effects on the various sources of healthcare financing, including government support, donor support, national health insurance scheme (NHIS) and out-of-pocket payments, which will impact the general delivery of healthcare in the country. Government support to the health sector in general is likely to be rechannelled into fighting the pandemic considering the declining tax and other non-tax revenues as well as huge expenditure commitment. Donor support is also likely to be scaled down and existing funds redirected into dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The NHIS will be affected, as many subscribers are not likely to renew their health insurance policies because of the fear of contracting the coronavirus when they visit health facilities. Also, the non-attendance at health facilities by health consumers will impact out-of-pocket payments and the hospitals’ ability to generate sufficient internal resources for their operations. A number of useful recommendations are proffered with the aim of improving health financing system in Ghana during and post-COVID-19 pandemic.