In Ghana, do you have to pay upfront for the doctor?

Question

I heard that you have to pay at clinics before they will treat you...is that true?

Answer 1

Grace,

Generally, if the hospital or clinic has a reason to believe that you may not be able to pay, they will insist on payment up front.  My daughter recently was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was in the hospital for 5 days, we had to buy all of her drugs and saline drips from the hospital dispensary, and give them to the doctors to administer.  When she needed lab blood work, we paid in advance.

Unless the patient belongs to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), then the payment must be upfront.

Hope this helps.

Barb, an American who lives in Ghana

P.S.  prices here are much much cheaper than in the U.S., so if someone is telling you that payment for XYZ is hundreds of dollars, they're full of it.  My daughter's hospital stay was $2 a night in the "amenity" ward, which was semi-private, and the entire cost for the usage of the medical teams and equipment was $78.