{"id":8925,"date":"2024-11-12T08:55:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T08:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=8925"},"modified":"2024-11-12T08:55:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T08:55:42","slug":"free-dialysis-is-a-lifeline-but-why-now-dr-sarpong-asiedu-questions-nhis-rollout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=8925","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Free dialysis is a lifeline, but why now?\u2019 \u2013 Dr Sarpong Asiedu questions NHIS rollout."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu, has questioned the timing of the upcoming free dialysis treatment program under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to begin December 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview , he expressed mixed feelings about the move, calling it \u201cnecessary and affordable\u201d but criticising the delay in implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you remember from October last year, we discussed this, and I was very categorical that this was affordable and necessary. There was no reason for a delay because a delay would inevitably lead to a loss of lives,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While he is pleased to see the policy finally rolling out, he argued that it could and should have been implemented sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His remarks come in response to Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia\u2019s announcement of the initiative aimed at providing all kidney patients covered by NHIS with free dialysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drawing on global standards, Dr. Asiedu questioned why Ghana had taken so long to act when \u201crenal dialysis is typically covered by insurance in most countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stressed that dialysis costs are too high for individuals to bear on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added, \u201cI had not seen any country in the world where renal dialysis is paid for by patients directly because it would certainly bankrupt them. It\u2019s always funded by insurance, so I\u2019m glad it\u2019s being funded now, but my concern remains: Why now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Asiedu went on to explain the prevalence of kidney disease in Ghana, noting that an estimated 39 patients per million people require dialysis each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe prevalence of end-stage renal failure is around 13%, but only about 39 out of every million people end up needing dialysis,\u201d he said, estimating that roughly 1,350 patients nationwide would need dialysis annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHowever, many patients avoid seeking formal medical care, instead relying on alternative treatments or prayer centres without fully understanding their health needs,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ose-youtube ose-uid-a565e6866d69d99647572664bbbdc6ec ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:400px; height:400px; max-height:400px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\" data-embed-type=\"Youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7QIGpt4iDEc?feature=oembed&color=red&rel=0&controls=1&start=&end=&fs=0&iv_load_policy=0&autoplay=0&mute=0&modestbranding=0&cc_load_policy=1&playsinline=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"origin\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on these numbers, he estimated that only about 800-900 people would likely access the treatment initially, explaining that NHIS had already accounted for 400 patients in a recent pilot program, though even that fell short of expected uptake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked whether the recent pilot program justified the delay, Dr. Asiedu responded, \u201cThat\u2019s a question worth addressing. If the pilot provided clear, positive results, that data should be available to allay concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stressed that transparency regarding the pilot\u2019s findings is critical for public confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor those with doubts, seeing the numbers would help. From my perspective, and from the data I\u2019ve seen, the resources are more than adequate to support this initiative,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He expressed that if the resources were found lacking, then \u201cthe NHIS\u2014and indeed the nation\u2014is failing its people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Asiedu further highlighted the potential for partnerships with private dialysis centres, urging NHIS to explore funding negotiations with these facilities to increase access for patients who might prefer private treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow that insurance will cover dialysis, perhaps private providers can be brought on board in a structured way, allowing a Funding Facility through NHIS,\u201d he proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also mentioned that government hospitals already pre-financed dialysis treatments during the pilot, a practice he hopes will extend to other facilities once the policy is fully implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Asiedu\u2019s stance centred on the potential lives saved and the avoidable suffering caused by the delay. \u201cIf the government had acted earlier, lives could have been saved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe numbers have been steady since last year, between 34 and 39 per million. If the resources to fund it were available, what justified the wait?\u201d Dr Asiedu questioned, reiterating his hope that the health insurance and government can live up to the commitment to make life-saving treatments accessible for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu, has questioned the timing of the upcoming free dialysis treatment program under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to begin December 1. In an interview , he expressed mixed feelings about the move, calling it \u201cnecessary and affordable\u201d but criticising the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,13],"tags":[2903,1498],"class_list":["post-8925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-health","tag-dialysis","tag-nhis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8925"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8927,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8925\/revisions\/8927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}