The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has struck a landmark deal that will ensure doctors across the country, and their families will enjoy ‘free’ healthcare when they are sick.
The deal which is in partnership with the Premier Health Insurance Company, one of Ghana’s biggest commercial health insurance companies, is a major step towards improving working conditions of doctors across the country.
According to the outgoing President of the GMA, Dr Frank Ankobea, members of the GMA, both in public and private practice across the country will, under this new arrangement be entitled to medical care and all health delivery services in any health facility of their choice without having to pay huge medical expenses at the hospital.
He explained, the Association through its members will pay reasonable annual premiums which will facilitate the implementation of this historic health policy for doctors.
Dr Frank Ankobea made this revelation at the just ended GMA Annual General Meeting.
He said the policy is the first of its kind to have been pioneered by the GMA as a body in the fourth Republican constitution.
Poor Working Conditions
It comes at a time when the GMA has made several appeals to government to secure the health needs of doctors who give their all to save lives but have little to save themselves when they get sick.
According to Dr Ankobea, this policy will go a long way to improving the low health worker motivation and discontent in the hospitals, known to be major causes of poor healthcare quality and outcomes in Sub Saharan Africa including Ghana.
He was disappointed that health workers, particularly doctors, who are the custodians of health care delivery in Ghana, are measured and assessed by what the public perceive to be ‘people-centred’ care but very little attention is given to the care doctors receive when they or their family members are sick.
“It is for this reason that our team entered into this partnership with Premier Health Insurance, the GMA president said, adding, “this policy will in many significant ways address a major challenge for doctors who break their necks everyday caring for patients, and yet when they are down with sickness they are forced, and sometimes struggle to raise the cost of medical expenses for themselves and their immediate family members.”
“We have lost some members in the past because when the sickness struck, they were unable to pay upfront the cost of health delivery services,” he pointed out.
Legacy
For Dr Ankobea and his team of executives who will soon be exiting office as leaders of the GMA, this health insurance policy is a just-in-time legacy project they intend to bequeath to all doctors after they leave office.
Even though doctors are expected to pay the premiums at least to set the policy in motion, Dr Ankobea was quick to alert government of its promises to secure the welfare and health needs of doctors.
“Indeed this is a bold step we have taken but the government can at least meet us half way with the premiums, in line with the promises government has made in the past,” he reiterated.
Explaining the processes under which Premier Health Insurance was selected to champion this health insurance policy, Dr Ankobea said GMA invited bids from the major health insurance companies.
“After a thorough assessment of all the bids we realized Premier Health insurance offered the most competitive bid, which was equitable and affordable,” he added.
He believed this policy is a major step forward towards improving the health and welfare of the over 5,000 members across the country.
Premier Care
Chief Executive Officer of Premier Health Insurance, Mr Percy Asare-Ansah said the partnership with GMA is testament of Premier’s track record in managing health insurance needs of its clients.
Even though the company has similar arrangements for teachers, Mr Ansah said the policy with the GMA is novelle in many significant respects.
He said it was always a bother to him that doctors who are the major stakeholders in the health delivery system and give more for clients to get well, are always given less when they become patients themselves.
“My team and I have always been thinking around a policy that will meet the health needs of doctors and so we were not entirely surprised that our bid grabbed the attention of the GMA.
And given the fact that we already have a seamless package with teachers across the country, it was relatively easy drafting an impressive package for doctors as well,” Mr Ansah added.
He promised that his team will manage the policy to the admiration of GMA and hopefully would attract other public sector workers as well.
