Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority has therefore urged Ghanaians to utilize the use of the short code.

He explained to a cross section of the media at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Head Office in Accra that the expiration date on the physical card solely applies to the five-year "lifespan" of the Physical card, "members must renew membership annually in order to be active on the scheme to be eligible to access healthcare service under the NHIS.

Dr. Okoe-Boye said the management of the NHIS has taken into consideration the concerns raised by members on these expiration dates and are working assiduously to remove the confusion surrounding the annual renewal of membership by printing expiration dates that capture the 12-month renewal dates as well on the cards.

Dr. Okoe-Boye further stated that, all it takes for one to be insured under the NHIS is seven (7) Ghana cedis for SSNIT contributors and thirty (30) Ghana cedis or less (for rural folks) and non-SSNIT contributors.

"Thus, anybody's decision to stay uninsured is not based on affordability, but rather a harsh decision not to care to be insured," he said.