The Effect of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme on Health Care Utilisation

Abstract

Objectives: The study investigates the effect of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on health care utilisation. Methods: We provide a short history of health insurance in Ghana, and briefly discuss general patterns of enrolment in Ghana as well as in Accra in a first step. In a second step, we use data from the Women’s Health Study of Accra wave II to evaluate the effect of insurance on health seeking behaviour using propensity score matching. Results: We find that on average individuals enrolled in the insurance scheme are significantly more likely to obtain prescriptions, visit clinics and seek formal health care when sick. Conclusion: These results suggest that the government’s objective to increase access to the formal health care sector through health insurance has at least partially been achieved.