High capital cost slows Ghana’s private health insurance sector

Dan Armooh, chief executive officer, Acacia Health Insurance, says the high cost of capital is thwarting the growth of the private health insurance industry in Ghana, and stressed that cheap capital would help the industry to flourish.

Per Ghanaian Times, he is reported as saying that some private companies had collapsed due to financial difficulties.

“The prospects of the private health insurance industry are huge and bright since insurance penetration in the country is generally low, and the private health industry should be supported to thrive,” he said.

Armooh said the current arrangement where the National Health Insurance Scheme took a chunk of all health insurance business was hampering the growth of the private health insurance industry.

“Until the NHIS shrank its services and ceded some of the services for the private sector operators, the private health insurance companies would continue to suffer,” he said.

He said the 14 private health insurance companies currently had a total customer base of 300,000. Acacia itself serves more than 34,000 customers.