The Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, has unveiled a comprehensive national cancer care package designed to reduce the financial burden on patients by covering diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care, as the programme prepares for nationwide implementation.
The package was introduced during a stakeholder engagement between officials of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and the management and clinical leadership of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, aimed at strengthening collaboration ahead of the programme’s rollout.
Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said the engagement reflected the strong partnership between Mahama Cares and Korle Bu, which has played a key role in shaping the Fund’s programmes through nationwide needs assessments and the development of its Patient Support Programme.
She said the hospital’s expertise had been instrumental in designing interventions for people living with chronic non-communicable diseases and stressed that continued collaboration would help ensure patients receive quality healthcare without suffering financial hardship.
Chief Executive of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, welcomed the initiative, describing it as an important step towards improving access to specialist healthcare for patients battling cancer and other chronic illnesses.
He said close coordination between the hospital and the Trust Fund would be essential to ensure efficient claims processing, accountability and timely delivery of services, adding that the hospital remained committed to working with all stakeholders to improve patient outcomes.
The centrepiece of the meeting was the unveiling of the national cancer care package.
Head of Operations of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, William Omane-Agyekum, said the initiative marks the transition from the Fund’s 18-month pilot phase to a structured national financing framework established under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Act, 2023 (Act 1114).
He explained that although the Fund is intended to support people living with chronic non-communicable diseases, the Board of Trustees, after consultations with medical experts, decided to prioritise cancer because of its high treatment costs, national disease burden and the devastating financial impact it has on families.
“We could not start with every non-communicable disease at once. We considered treatment availability, equity, budgetary implications and the catastrophic financial impact on families before agreeing that cancer should be our first priority,” Mr Omane-Agyekum said.
The programme will initially support patients diagnosed with eight types of cancer, comprising three adult cancers and five childhood cancers selected based on national prevalence and expert recommendations.
Eligible patients will receive financial support throughout their treatment journey, covering specialist consultations, diagnostic investigations, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, hormonal therapy, inpatient care and up to two years of post-treatment follow-up.
Patients who remain stable after the two-year follow-up period will transition to the National Health Insurance Scheme or lower-level health facilities for routine reviews.
Mr Omane-Agyekum said the Trust Fund had adopted two payment models to ensure accountability and efficient financing. Medicines and diagnostic investigations will be reimbursed using a fee-for-service model, while specialist outpatient consultations will be funded through bundled tariffs covering clinical services and operational costs.
He said the package was developed through extensive consultations involving specialists from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and Ho Teaching Hospital.
Medical experts reviewed treatment pathways, medicines and required services during a three-day national consensus meeting before detailed costing exercises were carried out across the teaching hospitals. The final proposals were subsequently approved by the Trust Fund’s Board of Trustees and endorsed by the Minister of Health.
Mr Omane-Agyekum said successful implementation would depend on strong collaboration among healthcare providers.
“As comprehensive as this package is, it remains only a document unless we implement it effectively. This engagement is to ensure that all stakeholders understand the framework and work together for the benefit of the Ghanaian people,” he said.
The meeting also reviewed the medicines list and tariff schedule to ensure the Mahama Cares package complements rather than duplicates services already covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme. Treatments and medicines already financed under the NHIS will not be paid for by the Trust Fund, while services outside both benefit packages will remain out-of-pocket expenses.
Stakeholders further discussed the need to strengthen digital integration through the Ghana Health Information Management System to improve claims processing, enhance coordination and reduce administrative delays.
The Ghana Medical Trust Fund was established to provide financial protection for people living with chronic non-communicable diseases through direct patient support, investment in medical infrastructure, specialist training and research funding.
Officials said the cancer care package is the first phase of a broader programme that will gradually expand financial support to other chronic diseases as Mahama Cares works to ensure that more Ghanaians can access specialised healthcare without being pushed into financial hardship.
