Out-of-pocket payment for healthcare, the insured and uninsured: the barrier to universal healthcare coverage in Ghana

Henry A. Tagoe, University of Ghana

All healthcare insurance systems are aimed at achieving the main financing functions of raising revenues, pooling resources for risk-sharing. Out-of-packet payment for healthcare pushes many households into poverty, especially in the Global South where there are insufficient funds for healthcare financing. Multi cross-sectional analyses of nationally representative sample survey (2008-GDHS) with 11,778 household, 4,916 female and 4,568 male adult was used to assess coverage, determinants and barrier to healthcare insurance adjusting for socio-demographic factors. Approximately 48% of the household had no member insured while about 42% female and 32% had no health insurance cover. Direct relationships exist between educational attainment, wealth and insurance coverage. It argue that the relatively-low health-insurance coverage at the household level and high dependent on family and friends for insurance premium payment will push more households into poverty and widen the already existing health inequality within the country and constitute a barrier to universal healthcare coverage.