The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has launched a nationwide campaign eliminating registration and renewal fees for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), while also scrapping the one-month waiting period for access to services, marking the first time all three benefits have been offered simultaneously.

The intervention, dubbed “STORM,” is being rolled out across the country and will run until May 31, 2026, with officials urging residents to take advantage of what has been described as a historic window.

Announcing the initiative at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, May 4, NHIA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, said the move represents an unprecedented step in the evolution of the NHIS.

“For the very first time in the history of Ghana’s national health insurance scheme, we are simultaneously waiving both the registration and renewal fees and the one-month waiting period together at the same time. This has never happened before,” he said.

Under the initiative, first-time registrants can sign up at no cost, while existing members with expired or lapsed coverage can renew for free and access healthcare services immediately.

In a departure from the traditional office-based approach, the NHIA has deployed staff nationwide to deliver services directly to the public. Registration teams are visiting markets, lorry parks, transport terminals, churches, mosques, schools, workplaces, and underserved communities to boost enrolment.

“We are not waiting for people to come to us, but taking the service to them,” Dr Bampoe said, adding that the authority is collaborating with community leaders, traditional authorities and civil society groups to expand outreach.

The campaign is also being integrated with free primary healthcare outreach and screening exercises, allowing residents to register and receive basic health checks in a single visit.

According to the NHIA, the STORM initiative aligns with the free primary healthcare programme launched by John Dramani Mahama on April 15, with an active NHIS card serving as the gateway to accessing healthcare services from community facilities to teaching hospitals.

To improve accessibility, residents can also register or renew their membership remotely by dialling *929# on any mobile phone or via the MyNHIS mobile application.

Dr Bampoe urged all eligible persons not to delay, stressing that the opportunity could have life-saving implications.