The cost of receiving mental health care in Ghana has risen to exorbitant levels, according to a state agency’s recent investigation into the subject.
The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is one of several mental health care facilities that have revised their service fees.
The upward adjustment, according to the research, is to ensure that these facilities continue operations amidst financial constraints due to declining donor support.
The cost of consultation and hospital cards at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, for instance, is reported to have increased from GH¢60 to GH¢100, representing a 66.7% increment. Their one-month admission fee has also increased from GH¢1,500 to GH¢2,500.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the facility on September 30, 2022, a one-month admission now cost GH¢2,500. It initially cost GH¢1,500, indicating a 66.7% increment.
Ghana, in 2012, passed the Mental Health Act to create a new system where mental healthcare is free.
Section 88(2) of the Act states: “A person suffering from a mental disorder with a physical condition is entitled to free health care under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card.”
However, the Accra Psychiatric Hospital has refused to accept the NHIS card, the research added.
This implies that the cost of all other tests, including blood and sugar levels, was to be taken care of by patients.
“Things have changed, and we are suffering. My brother is not well but I can’t bring him here regularly because now, the services are very expensive. We can’t afford it…,” a source at the hospital is quoted to have disclosed.
This revelation comes at a time when the Mental Health Authority (MHA), which is mandated to promote mental health, prevent mental illness and provide quality mental health services in the country, has revealed that it is unable to operate efficiently owing to financial constraints.
The MHA operates with money in the Mental Health Fund due to voluntary contributions from individuals, organizations, and the private sector; money approved by Parliament, grants from bilateral and multilateral sources; donations and gifts; and any other sources approved by the Minister responsible for Finance.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the MHA, Dr Akwasi Osei, the Authority is to primarily generate its funds through the Mental Health Levy, which is yet to be implemented by the Ministry of Finance.
“The levy has to be established by the Ministry of Finance and not Parliament. We approached parliamentarians, and they said we had done our part, that is to pass the law which says the levy should be established. The rest is for the Ministry of Finance. This is a levy with a difference. It could be such that you would not feel it much,” he said.
Cost of mental health care on the rise.
He proposed that 50 pesewas be taken from the salaries of workers during the implementation of the Mental Health Levy, as such an amount would not have a huge impact on the net salary workers receive.
Assessing other alternatives, Dr Akwasi Osei stated that the government could also establish a levy where it could take 0.5% from the revenue generated from existing levies such as the Value Added Tax (VAT), the Electronic Transaction Levy, also known as E-levy, among others.
“The reality is that we need that tax. The point is that it does not look like a time will come when the government will have enough money to give to mental healthcare,” he emphasized.
Source: The Independent Ghana