Private health insurance not elitist service – Dr. Amu
By Christabel Oboshie ANNAN, Accra
The Managing Director of Acacia Health Insurance, Dr. Dan Vincent Amu, has dispelled the misconception that health insurance is an elitist service.
He argued that everyone is susceptible to illnesses, regardless of financial means, emphasizing the universality of health concerns.
Dr. Amu made these remarks on the morning show of Zed 101.9 FM, highlighting the universal nature of health issues.
Emphasizing that health concerns affect everyone, regardless of financial status, he debunked the notion of elitism in accessing healthcare.
He asserted that healthcare lacks any form of elitism, stating, “Health insurance is not elitist; it’s about being strategic enough to hedge on how much you would have to spend on healthcare whenever the unexpected happens.”
Acknowledging the existence of national health insurance, Dr. Amu pointed out that a substantial portion of the population remains without coverage, emphasizing the global challenge of inadequate funds for healthcare.
In Ghana, he noted that approximately 55% of the people are enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), leaving a significant gap that private health insurance services aim to address.
The Managing Director outlined the challenges faced by the private health insurance industry in Ghana.
With 15 private health insurance companies in the country, he highlighted the primary obstacle of attracting a diverse clientele, both healthy and unhealthy.
“In Ghana, you need both the healthy and unhealthy. The issue we have here is that the healthy think they do not need it as a service, so it is the unhealthy who see it as a need.” he explained.
He stressed the importance of starting with schemes that have a fair mix of healthy and unhealthy people to sustain the funds pool.
Dr. Amu expressed excitement within the private health insurance sector to bridge the healthcare gap by providing access to the 45% of Ghanaians currently without health insurance.
He underscored the necessity of creating schemes that attract a diverse demographic, ensuring the sustainability of the funds pool for comprehensive healthcare coverage.
Dr. Amu emphasized the need for health insurance companies to aggregate funds through premiums paid by individuals who sign up for the pool.
He highlighted the importance of creating a healthy pool with a mix of the young and the aged, emphasizing the need for large partnerships to advance systems.
He addressed the relative nature of expenses in healthcare, stating, “Expensive is relative. There’s nothing to be compared to healthcare. Once your health fails you, you cannot quantify your health. So, if I look at what we charge for healthcare, I’d say that it is cheap.”
Dr. Amu encouraged individuals to join insurance schemes, considering private health insurance as a complementary service to support them when needed.
He emphasized that the healthy should prioritize insurance more than the unhealthy.
