President John Dramani Mahama has told the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to watch hospitals closely and punish any that charge patients with valid National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards fees the scheme does not allow.
He gave the directive in his address to the Ghana Medical Association's (GMA) 68th Annual General Conference, at Central University in Miotso, near Prampram, on Friday, November 6. His warning formed part of a broader health policy address at the conference.
Mahama said complaints had reached him that some providers still take cash from insured patients before treating them for conditions covered by the scheme. He said NHIA teams were moving from facility to facility to enforce compliance. The 2026 Budget gave the health ministry and its agencies about GHS 22.8 billion, plus GHS 11.3 billion for the National Health Insurance Fund.
Mahama urged providers to help the NHIA curb fraud and waste. Of the insurance fund transfer, GHS 2.26 billion is earmarked for the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, known as MahamaCares, which funds specialised care for serious conditions beyond standard NHIS coverage.
The scheme works alongside the government's drive toward strengthening the NHIS and expanding free primary healthcare, launched in April 2026 with faith-based providers under the Christian Health Association of Ghana.
The Medical Superintendents Group called for expanded emergency and critical care facilities and stronger hospital referral systems to end the no-bed syndrome. Hospital managers said individual facilities and doctors could not solve the crisis alone. Mahama also ordered the expansion of emergency units at four major hospitals and the procurement of 100 new ambulances to tackle the no-bed syndrome.
Araba Incoom, a writer on multiple topics, notes that the no-bed syndrome requires a strong political commitment to solve. The superintendents called for sustainable financing, stronger institutional collaboration, more resources for the National Ambulance Service, better care before patients reach hospital, and systems that show free beds in real time.