Introduced in 2003, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a social intervention program in Ghana that provides financial access to quality health care for residents in the country. According to the official NHIS website, the scheme is funded by the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL), which is a 2.5% levy on goods and services collected under the Value Added Tax (VAT), 2.5 percentage points of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions per month, return on National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) investments and premium, paid by informal sector subscribers.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was established under Act 650 of 2003 by the Government of Ghana to provide a broad range of healthcare services to Ghanaians through district mutual and private health insurance schemes.
According to data available on the NHIS website, “Despite some challenges, the NHIA’s active membership is at an all-time high of 16.75 million members, amounting to approximately 54% of Ghana’s population at the end of 2021.”
As part of measures to ensure the patronage of the NHIS, the scheme in the last three years, during its ‘Active Week’ celebration, provides a waiver for all new members and existing members to enjoy instant activation of their health insurance card. This means that this December, which has been dubbed “Active Month”, aside from the already existing categories of instant activation waivers, children aged five years and below, pregnant women and the elderly (persons 70 years and above), any person who registers for the health insurance or renews it, the card becomes active instantly. One would not have to wait for the usual one-month waiting period.
In the past, ‘Active Week’ was held in November each year. However, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Okoe Boye, in a video said, “for the first time in our history as an organisation, honourable minister, we have shifted from celebrating our week in November, to now having what we call the ‘Active Month’ or ‘December Month’. Now, it is rather in December that we celebrate our month. What it means is that, in December, we want every Ghanaian to check whether they are active on the Health Insurance.”
On Monday, December 5, 2022, the Vice President, as part of the Active Month activities, launched the ‘MyNHIS App’ in the Northern regional capital, Tamale. According to a publication on the Presidency website, “the new application includes many user-friendly features, such as enabling persons desirous of enrolling with the NHIS to do so in the comfort of their homes using their mobile phones, instead of having to do so at an NHIS District Office. It will also enable members of the scheme to renew their membership and that of third parties, access frequently asked questions (FAQs), aid in locating all NHIS Offices and link NHIS cards to their Ghana cards, according to officials of the National Health Insurance Authority.” Here is a video of how to download and install ‘MyNHIS App’ on a smartphone.
How to download and install MyNHIS App
- Go to Apple App Store or Google Playstore on your smartphone.
- Search for MyNHIS App on any of the play stores.
- Click on download and install MyNHIS App.
How to Sign-up and create an account on MyNHIS App
- Look for MyNHIS App logo on your smartphone’s screen to open the app.
- Log in if you already have an account or the app or click ‘Don’t have an account? Sign up’, if you are a new user.
- Enter your details to sign up.
- Accept the app’s Terms and Privacy Policy by clicking on ‘I Agree to MyNHIS App’s Terms & Privacy Policy’ and click on ‘Continue’.
- Enter the OTP received as SMS on the phone number used to sign up.
- Wait for the OTP to be verified.
- This leads you to the ‘MyNHIS App’ dashboard, where you can get the app’s services.
Before you can use the services on the MyNHIS App, you will be required to create a profile with your Ghana Card details.
How to create a Ghana Card profile on the MyNHIS App
- Tap on the create profile.
- The next screen shows the information required on your Ghana Card to create your profile.
- An example screen shows you how to enter the information required on your Ghana Card to create your profile.
- Enter the details shown on your Ghana Card to create your profile.
- Select the nearest NHIS District Office in the area in which you reside.
- Confirm your district or change your selected district.
- Wait for the app to verify the Ghana Card details.
- In case of failure, an error message will display, prompting you to correct the required field.
- When verified, a successful message will be displayed.
- Tap on ‘Done’.
Once your profile has been created successfully, all the services will be activated on the app screen. You can now register, renew and link cards for yourself or others with Ghana Cards.
Aside from using the “MyNHIS App” to renew the health insurance card, users can also dial the short code *929# and follow the options to renew the card.
This report was produced under the DUBAWA Non-urban Journalists Mentorship project aimed at promoting a culture of truth and verification in non-urban newsrooms in Ghana with support from the US Embassy in Ghana.
