Research Paper #33 The Impact of Health Insurance Education on Enrollment of Microfinance Institution Clients in the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme, Northern Region of Ghana

Despite the fact that national health insurance has been available in Ghana since 2003, the coverage is far from universal. This study evaluates a consumer education intervention for microfinance clients by Freedom from Hunger and Sinapi Aba Trust designed to increase awareness, knowledge and eventually take-up rates of the National Health Insurance Scheme. Results suggest that the lack of knowledge may not the most important barrier to enrollment: while health insurance education appeared to increase knowledge of health insurance among those who received it, there were no significant differences in enrollment rates between the treatment groups and the control group. Rather, it appears that the convenience of registration and timing of premium payments were more common challenges faced by these individuals.