Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Negotiating Change: An Analysis Of The Origins Of Ghana's National Health Insurance Act, Jennifer L. Singleton

Sociology Honors Projects

Given the neo-liberal ideologies of the majority party and global trends toward market-based approaches to social services, the passage of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme, which provides coverage for all, seems anomalous. To answer the questions raised by this legislation, I analyze evidence from the government and consulting agencies. I find that a shift in international focus to allow social service reform combined with domestic electoral political influences. The scheme’s foundation of district mutual health organizations evolved from a USAID-funded consulting agency’s work, and may additionally reflect creative borrowing from the United States’ failed healthcare reforms of 1993.