Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

Vincent Ekow Arkorful; Ibrahim Basiru; Latif Amadu; Anastasia Hammond; Sarah Pokuaah; Eric Kwadwo Agyei; Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman; Edward Arthur

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

Vincent Ekow Arkorful, Ibrahim Basiru, Latif Amadu, Anastasia Hammond, Sarah Pokuaah, Eric Kwadwo Agyei, Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman, Edward Arthur

Published in Journal of Public Policy and Administration (Volume 2, Issue 4)

Received: 7 November 2018 Accepted: 26 November 2018 Published: 25 December 2018

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Abstract

Maintaining the health and wealth of a nation largely depends on the state of health care and policies guaranteeing citizens access to health care. It is the policy that creates the enabling operational environment for the health institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the public social policy program delivery, as well as challenges and prospects in three (3) purposefully selected districts each in the selected case study areas of the three (3) Northern regions of Ghana; The Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. The study employed the case study method. Interviews were conducted in communities in the selected districts in the regions using a semi-structured interview guide. The study relied on primary sources of data. Primary data were obtained through interview schedule and interview guide. The study identified reimbursement delays, widespread poverty among denizens of the study area, human resource constraints, infrastructural challenges and unethical conduct of health professionals. Others include: limited drug coverage under the scheme, logistical constraints, fraud and abuse, and delays in documents processing. The study therefore recommended among others things that, stakeholders, as part of concerted efforts to sustain the policy in the Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Region should integrate social justice, and vulnerability considerations into the policy to favour the poor and the socially marginalized.

Published in	Journal of Public Policy and Administration (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
Page(s)	71-83
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Public Social Policy, National Health Insurance Scheme, Operational Challenges, Northern Region, Ghana

References

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APA Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful, Ibrahim Basiru, Latif Amadu, Anastasia Hammond, Sarah Pokuaah, et al. (2018). Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 2(4), 71-83. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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ACS Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful; Ibrahim Basiru; Latif Amadu; Anastasia Hammond; Sarah Pokuaah, et al. Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. J. Public Policy Adm. 2018, 2(4), 71-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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AMA Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful, Ibrahim Basiru, Latif Amadu, Anastasia Hammond, Sarah Pokuaah, et al. Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. J Public Policy Adm. 2018;2(4):71-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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@article{10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15,
  author = {Vincent Ekow Arkorful and Ibrahim Basiru and Latif Amadu and Anastasia Hammond and Sarah Pokuaah and Eric Kwadwo Agyei and Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman and Edward Arthur},
  title = {Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana},
  journal = {Journal of Public Policy and Administration},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {71-83},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jppa.20180204.15},
  abstract = {Maintaining the health and wealth of a nation largely depends on the state of health care and policies guaranteeing citizens access to health care. It is the policy that creates the enabling operational environment for the health institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the public social policy program delivery, as well as challenges and prospects in three (3) purposefully selected districts each in the selected case study areas of the three (3) Northern regions of Ghana; The Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. The study employed the case study method. Interviews were conducted in communities in the selected districts in the regions using a semi-structured interview guide. The study relied on primary sources of data. Primary data were obtained through interview schedule and interview guide. The study identified reimbursement delays, widespread poverty among denizens of the study area, human resource constraints, infrastructural challenges and unethical conduct of health professionals. Others include: limited drug coverage under the scheme, logistical constraints, fraud and abuse, and delays in documents processing. The study therefore recommended among others things that, stakeholders, as part of concerted efforts to sustain the policy in the Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Region should integrate social justice, and vulnerability considerations into the policy to favour the poor and the socially marginalized.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana
AU  - Vincent Ekow Arkorful
AU  - Ibrahim Basiru
AU  - Latif Amadu
AU  - Anastasia Hammond
AU  - Sarah Pokuaah
AU  - Eric Kwadwo Agyei
AU  - Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman
AU  - Edward Arthur
Y1  - 2018/12/25
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
T2  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
JF  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
JO  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
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EP  - 83
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-2696
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
AB  - Maintaining the health and wealth of a nation largely depends on the state of health care and policies guaranteeing citizens access to health care. It is the policy that creates the enabling operational environment for the health institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the public social policy program delivery, as well as challenges and prospects in three (3) purposefully selected districts each in the selected case study areas of the three (3) Northern regions of Ghana; The Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. The study employed the case study method. Interviews were conducted in communities in the selected districts in the regions using a semi-structured interview guide. The study relied on primary sources of data. Primary data were obtained through interview schedule and interview guide. The study identified reimbursement delays, widespread poverty among denizens of the study area, human resource constraints, infrastructural challenges and unethical conduct of health professionals. Others include: limited drug coverage under the scheme, logistical constraints, fraud and abuse, and delays in documents processing. The study therefore recommended among others things that, stakeholders, as part of concerted efforts to sustain the policy in the Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Region should integrate social justice, and vulnerability considerations into the policy to favour the poor and the socially marginalized.
VL  - 2
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Author Information

Vincent Ekow Arkorful

School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Ibrahim Basiru

School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Latif Amadu

School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Anastasia Hammond

Department of Psychology and Home Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Sarah Pokuaah

Department of Nursing, Stark State Community College, Stark County, USA
Eric Kwadwo Agyei

Agricultural Extension Department, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman

School of Public Affairs, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Edward Arthur

Department of Economics and Entrepreneurial Studies, University for Development Studies, Wa, Ghana

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APA Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful, Ibrahim Basiru, Latif Amadu, Anastasia Hammond, Sarah Pokuaah, et al. (2018). Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 2(4), 71-83. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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ACS Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful; Ibrahim Basiru; Latif Amadu; Anastasia Hammond; Sarah Pokuaah, et al. Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. J. Public Policy Adm. 2018, 2(4), 71-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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AMA Style

Vincent Ekow Arkorful, Ibrahim Basiru, Latif Amadu, Anastasia Hammond, Sarah Pokuaah, et al. Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. J Public Policy Adm. 2018;2(4):71-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15

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@article{10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15,
  author = {Vincent Ekow Arkorful and Ibrahim Basiru and Latif Amadu and Anastasia Hammond and Sarah Pokuaah and Eric Kwadwo Agyei and Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman and Edward Arthur},
  title = {Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana},
  journal = {Journal of Public Policy and Administration},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {71-83},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jppa.20180204.15},
  abstract = {Maintaining the health and wealth of a nation largely depends on the state of health care and policies guaranteeing citizens access to health care. It is the policy that creates the enabling operational environment for the health institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the public social policy program delivery, as well as challenges and prospects in three (3) purposefully selected districts each in the selected case study areas of the three (3) Northern regions of Ghana; The Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. The study employed the case study method. Interviews were conducted in communities in the selected districts in the regions using a semi-structured interview guide. The study relied on primary sources of data. Primary data were obtained through interview schedule and interview guide. The study identified reimbursement delays, widespread poverty among denizens of the study area, human resource constraints, infrastructural challenges and unethical conduct of health professionals. Others include: limited drug coverage under the scheme, logistical constraints, fraud and abuse, and delays in documents processing. The study therefore recommended among others things that, stakeholders, as part of concerted efforts to sustain the policy in the Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Region should integrate social justice, and vulnerability considerations into the policy to favour the poor and the socially marginalized.},
 year = {2018}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Public Social Policy Efficacy Assessment: Operational Challenges of the Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana
AU  - Vincent Ekow Arkorful
AU  - Ibrahim Basiru
AU  - Latif Amadu
AU  - Anastasia Hammond
AU  - Sarah Pokuaah
AU  - Eric Kwadwo Agyei
AU  - Nurudeen Abdul-Rahaman
AU  - Edward Arthur
Y1  - 2018/12/25
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
T2  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
JF  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
JO  - Journal of Public Policy and Administration
SP  - 71
EP  - 83
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-2696
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20180204.15
AB  - Maintaining the health and wealth of a nation largely depends on the state of health care and policies guaranteeing citizens access to health care. It is the policy that creates the enabling operational environment for the health institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the public social policy program delivery, as well as challenges and prospects in three (3) purposefully selected districts each in the selected case study areas of the three (3) Northern regions of Ghana; The Northern Region, Upper East Region and the Upper West Region. The study employed the case study method. Interviews were conducted in communities in the selected districts in the regions using a semi-structured interview guide. The study relied on primary sources of data. Primary data were obtained through interview schedule and interview guide. The study identified reimbursement delays, widespread poverty among denizens of the study area, human resource constraints, infrastructural challenges and unethical conduct of health professionals. Others include: limited drug coverage under the scheme, logistical constraints, fraud and abuse, and delays in documents processing. The study therefore recommended among others things that, stakeholders, as part of concerted efforts to sustain the policy in the Northern, Upper East and the Upper West Region should integrate social justice, and vulnerability considerations into the policy to favour the poor and the socially marginalized.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
ER  -

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