Ghana - Get Biometric ID for National Health Insurance Scheme Member

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. To Get Biometric Card National Health Insurance Scheme Member in Ghana, the applicants has to approach the Ghana National Health Insurance Authority office contact link
2. Applicant must obtain the required application form from NHIS office or download the application form from this link
3. The applicant has to make sure he or she has all the required documents that are required for this process to be successful and they can be found under the "Required Documents" section of this page.
4. Applicant should attach photocopies of documents (whichever is necessary) along with the applicant form while submitting it at the office.
5. Payment of appropriate fees should be made and that can be found under the "Fees" section of this page.
6. To register as a subscriber of NHIS, Applicant will be interviewed to know which category his/her belong to, whether Applicant are registering as:
   • An annual premium paying member, or
   • A member of the exempt group.
7. If the applicant is registering as an annual premium paying member, please note that Applicant will pay premium and processing fee once every year for renewal.
8. At registration, the registration officer will assist Applicant to fill a registration form. Applicant will need to provide the following personal particulars:
   • Full name
   • Date of birth
   • Age
   • Marital status
   • Mobile phone number(s)
   • Community of residence/residential address.
9. After taking your personal particulars and payments, the registration officer will take your photograph and biometric information.
   • During the taking of Applicant photograph, Applicant should open your eyes and look straight into the camera. Applicant should also close your mouth.
   • The biometric information required is fingerprints of Applicant ten fingers. The prints will be taken in this order:
     • The four fingers of Applicant right hand
     • The four fingers of Applicant left hand
     • Applicants two thumbs
10. During registration, Applicant will be required to select your preferred primary provider (PPP).
    • The PPP should be a primary care provider, which should either be a clinic/health centre, polyclinic or a primary hospital. His/her should make the choice yourself otherwise his/her will be assigned to an available primary care provider.
    • When his/her fall ill, Applicant should first of all visit your PPP for treatment. If his/her illness cannot be treated at the primary care level, his/her will be referred to a higher level health care facility.
    • In an emergency, Applicant may access health care at any health care facility.
    • Applicant may change your PPP at determined intervals or when you change your permanent residence.
11. The New card is issued instantly at point of registration for new subscribers and those renewing their membership.

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Required Documents

• Application form link
• Applicant will be required to have proof of exemption, e.g.:
  • A pregnant woman will have to present proof of pregnancy such as current antenatal card, a signed note from a doctor or midwife, pregnancy test result endorsed by a doctor or midwife or other prescriber or an ultrasound scan report.
  • A SSNIT contributor should be active in the SSNIT database presented to NHIA by SSNIT.
  • A SSNIT pensioner should show his/her SSNIT number. Our will be registered without paying premium.
  • His/her will then be registered without paying premium. The following people in the exempt categories do not pay processing fee:
  • Pregnant women
  • Indigents
  • Categories of differently-abled persons determined by the Minister responsible for Social Welfare
  • Persons with mental disorder
  • SSNIT contributors
  • SSNIT pensioners
  • Persons above seventy years of age (the elderly)
  • Other categories prescribed by the Minister
• The biometric information required is fingerprints of Applicant ten fingers. The prints will be taken in this order:
  • The four fingers of Applicant right hand
  • The four fingers of Applicant left hand
  • Applicants two thumbs

Office Locations & Contacts

National Health Insurance Authority
Address: AU, Ridge Residential Area,
36 SekouToure St, Accra, Ghana
HR83+9P Accra, Ghana
No. 36-6th Avenue, Opposite AU Suite,
Ridge Residential Area, Accra.
Digital address: GA-029-3976
Fax number: +233 (0) 302 232325
Contact number: +233302216970/+233 (0) 302 238136/ 233255/ 216970/ 241690
Email id: [email protected]
Location link
Contact link

Eligibility

• Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)
• Maternity homes
• Health centre
• Clinics
• Polyclinics
• Primary hospitals (district hospitals, CHAG primary hospitals, quasi- Government primary hospitals and private primary hospitals)
• Secondary hospitals
• Tertiary hospitals
• Pharmacies
• Licensed chemical shops
• Diagnostic centres

Fees

• A fee has to be paid as per the authority’s request.

Validity

• The new card is valid for 5 years subject to yearly membership renewals.

Documents to Use

Link

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The processing time for this procedure takes approximately 3 months.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.gIn the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• If Applicant are registering as a member of the exempt category, please note that Applicant will be required to have proof of exemption, e.g.:
  • A pregnant woman will have to present proof of pregnancy such as current antenatal card, a signed note from a doctor or midwife, pregnancy test result endorsed by a doctor or midwife or other prescriber or an ultrasound scan report.
  • A SSNIT contributor should be active in the SSNIT database presented to NHIA by SSNIT.
  • A SSNIT pensioner should show his/her SSNIT number. Our will be registered without paying premium.
  • His/her will then be registered without paying premium. The following people in the exempt categories do not pay processing fee:
  • Pregnant women
  • Indigents
  • Categories of differently-abled persons determined by the Minister responsible for Social Welfare
  • Persons with mental disorder
  • SSNIT contributors
  • SSNIT pensioners
  • Persons above seventy years of age (the elderly)
  • Other categories prescribed by the Minister

Required Information

• Applicant will need to provide the following personal particulars:
• 8Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Age
  • Marital status
  • Mobile phone number(s)
  • Community of residence/residential address.

Need for the Document

• An indicator of NHIS membership as a means of authentication at health facilities to be used by other stakeholders as means of identity check of card holders.

The New Biometric Card - Future Usage

• In future, the new card shall be used to store subscribers’ hospital attendance information and some relevant health information like patient allergies and blood group.

Information which might help

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE NHIS

• The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a social intervention program introduced by government to provide financial access to quality health care for residents in Ghana. The NHIS is largely funded by:
  • The National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL), which is 2.5% levies 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
  • Premium paid by informal sector subscribers.
• Government allocation complements the funding of the scheme.
• NHIS subscribers fall into two broad groups, the informal and exempt groups. It is only the informal group that pays premium. Members of the exempt group do not pay premium. They are:
  • Formal sector employees and the self-employed who contribute to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT contributors)
  • Children (persons under 18 years of age)
  • Persons in need of ante-natal, delivery and post-natal health care services (pregnant women)
  • Persons classified by the Minister for Social Welfare as indigents,
  • Categories of differently-abled persons determined by the Minister responsible for Social Welfare
  • Persons with mental disorder
  • Pensioners of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT pensioners)
  • Persons above seventy years of age (the elderly)
  • Other categories prescribed by the Minister
• In addition to the premium, subscribers are also required to pay a processing fee or renewal fee for their ID cards, except pregnant women and indigents. The table below depicts the different categories of subscribers, payments they have to make and whether or not they serve a waiting period.
• Several categories of health care facilities have been credentialed by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to provide services to subscribers. These are:
  • Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)
  • Maternity homes
  • Health center
  • Clinics
  • Polyclinics
  • Primary hospitals (district hospitals, CHAG primary hospitals, quasi- Government primary hospitals and private primary hospitals)
  • Secondary hospitals
  • Tertiary hospitals
  • Pharmacies
  • Licensed chemical shops
  • Diagnostic centres
• Applicant must however visit your primary provider first when he/she fall ill. If necessary, he/she will refer you to a higher level facility. This ensures that regional and teaching hospitals are able to concentrate on more complicated diseases, to reduce overcrowding and ensure quality of care at all levels.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

• Health Insurance Card is a card which serves as a proof that you have been covered under the health insurance policy you had purchased. It is an identification card that contains policy details such as the policy number, name of the insured person, type of policy, coverage amount, date of birth, etc.

External Links

Link

Others

More information which might help people.