Finance Ministry Backs Universal Health Insurance | Business

The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has thrown its support behind Liberia’s move toward Universal Health Insurance (UHI), declaring that sustainable financing will be critical to ensuring that mothers, newborns and other vulnerable citizens can access quality healthcare without being pushed deeper into poverty.

Deputy Minister for Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Tanneh Brunson, said the proposed introduction of Universal Health Insurance represents an important milestone in Liberia’s pursuit of universal health coverage and efforts to build a healthier, more equitable and resilient population.

Speaking at the 2026 National Health Conference, Brunson said Liberia must begin viewing healthcare not simply as a social service but as a strategic investment in the country’s human capital and long-term economic development.

“Health care is therefore more than a social service. It is a strategic investment in our people and mostly in our future,” Brunson said.

She argued that a healthier population is essential to economic growth, higher productivity, poverty reduction and the successful implementation of the Government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).

According to Brunson, a properly designed and effectively implemented Universal Health Insurance scheme could protect Liberian households from catastrophic healthcare expenses while ensuring that health facilities and service providers have the financial resources needed to provide quality care.

She acknowledged that Liberia has made progress in expanding access to essential health services through collaboration between the government and development partners, but said significant challenges remain, particularly the financial barriers faced by families seeking maternal and newborn healthcare.

Many households, she noted, continue to rely heavily on out-of-pocket payments to obtain medical services.

Such payments, she warned, can cause families to delay seeking treatment and, in severe cases, push already vulnerable households further into poverty.

“These realities underscore the importance of establishing a sustainable financing mechanism that guarantees equitable access to quality care services for all Liberians,” Brunson said.

She explained that pooling financial resources and spreading health risks across the population could reduce the financial burden on individual households while expanding access to essential services and improving the overall performance of the healthcare system.

From the perspective of the Ministry of Finance, Brunson said Universal Health Insurance should not be viewed simply as another expenditure on the national budget.

Instead, she described it as a strategic investment that, if supported by sound financial planning and effective management systems, could improve efficiency, promote equity and produce better health outcomes.

She stressed, however, that the success of the proposed insurance system would depend heavily on strong public financial management, comprehensive health-sector policies and properly costed programs.

Health priorities, she said, must be adequately reflected in Liberia’s annual national budgets and medium-term expenditure frameworks so that commitments made under the health financing agenda are matched with realistic and sustainable resources.

Brunson also called for stronger health systems at the sub-national level, particularly in data management, planning, forecasting, costing, procurement, supply-chain management, reporting and accountability.

She said strengthening these systems would be essential to ensuring that resources allocated to healthcare are efficiently managed and reach the people and services for which they are intended.

The Deputy Minister further urged a multi-stakeholder approach to health planning and budgeting, warning that fragmented approaches could undermine the effective use of Liberia’s limited resources.

She called for greater coordination among government institutions, development partners, healthcare providers and other stakeholders to ensure that available resources are directed toward the country’s most critical health programs and services.

A central concern, Brunson said, must be ensuring that Liberia’s health insurance system does not leave behind those least able to afford healthcare.

She urged policymakers to deliberately design the system to protect women, children, persons with disabilities, rural communities and low-income households.

“No Liberian should be denied access to life-saving maternal or newborn health care because of inability to pay,” Brunson stressed.

She said Liberia’s ultimate objective should be to establish a system under which citizens—from newborns to elderly people, whether living in rural communities or urban centers—can obtain essential healthcare without facing financial barriers.

“No family should have to choose between seeking health care and feeding their family,” she added.

The Finance Ministry’s position comes as Liberia seeks to expand healthcare access while operating within a constrained fiscal environment, making the question of financing central to the proposed insurance reforms.

Brunson said the 2026 National Health Conference provides an important platform for policymakers, health professionals, development partners and other stakeholders to examine international experiences, assess Liberia’s preparedness and build consensus around an inclusive and sustainable financing framework for Universal Health Insurance.

She cautioned that discussions around the proposed scheme must go beyond the principle of universal coverage and address the practical issues that will determine whether the system can remain financially viable and deliver quality healthcare.

Among those issues, she identified the design of the insurance benefits package, provider payment mechanisms, governance arrangements and a realistic, phased approach to implementation.

Brunson encouraged stakeholders to engage constructively in the national dialogue and develop a practical financing model capable of moving Liberia’s universal health coverage ambitions from policy commitments to measurable results.

She reaffirmed the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning’s willingness to work with government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to identify sustainable financing mechanisms that can support quality healthcare while maintaining fiscal discipline and protecting Liberia’s macroeconomic stability.

For Liberia, the challenge is therefore not simply introducing a national health insurance system, but building one that can be financed sustainably, managed transparently and expanded without placing an unsustainable burden on the national budget or households.

Brunson emphasized that financial sustainability, equity and quality must remain at the center of Liberia’s health insurance reforms.

The ultimate objective, she said, should be a health insurance system that is financially sound, socially equitable and capable of ensuring quality healthcare for every Liberian, regardless of income or geographic location.