President John Dramani Mahama has clarified that the newly launched Free Primary Healthcare Programme is intended to complement, not replace, the existing National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Speaking at the launch in the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday, he emphasised that the initiative is designed to work alongside the current system implemented by the National Health Insurance Authority.

"The Free Primary Healthcare is complementary to the national health insurance; it is not coming to replace it, it is coming to complement the national health insurance," he noted.

"It doesn't mean that, because the free primary healthcare has come, you shouldn't get the national health insurance card. You should still have the national insurance card," he added.

President Mahama explained that the programme is intended to address gaps within the existing healthcare framework, particularly at the primary healthcare level, to ensure broader access to essential services, while the NHIS card would remain relevant at higher levels of care.

"At a point of examination and treatment at the polyclinic, CHPS, health centre, health kiosk and clinic level, you don't need your NHIS card at that point. You just need to show your Ghana card or any form of identification to show that you are a Ghanaian," he explained.

The clarification comes as the government rolls out the Free Primary Healthcare Programme as part of wider reforms aimed at improving access, affordability and efficiency within the country’s health sector.