This research examined illness and ways of negotiating health treatment from sociological and anthropological perspectives using qualitative methods in Agate, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 29 men and women over 50 years of age about whether and how they treated recent illnesses and with what results. Several themes arose from the interviews. Many critical obstacles to successful health treatment existed. However, participants creatively used various methods to try to negotiate a flawed healthcare system as best as they could. Participants blended religious/spiritual approaches including herbs, fasting, and prayer with western medicines, increased dependence on their social networks, and used various components of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to varying degrees.