NHIF Explains Ruto’s Agency Split Into 3
Michael Kamau, the chairman of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Board, has asserted that the government’s plan to effectively implement Universal Health Coverage (UHC) informed the decision to split the Fund into three.
Kamau explained to the media on Thursday that the government was not dismantling NHIF but rather constructing systems to address the Fund’s challenges.
NHIF will be divided into the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Social Health Insurance Fund, and the Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund, according to the new proposals of President William Ruto’s cabinet.
According to Kamau, the new proposals ratified by the Cabinet on Tuesday, August 29 will make Social Insurance Fund contributions mandatory for all Kenyans.
According to the current NHIF model, Kenyans only contribute to the fund voluntarily, resulting in many Kenyans lacking insurance coverage.
The chairperson also stated that the high cost of treating chronic diseases informed Ruto’s cabinet’s decision to approve the modifications.
“NHIF only participated in curing. Due to the inadequacy of the prevention system, the Primary Healthcare Fund and Social Health Fund are mandated contributions.
“Recognizing that critical illnesses are depleting NHIF and the fund’s resources, the government has decided to establish a critical illness fund that will not deplete the Social Health Fund,” he explained.
Kamau explained that various bills proposing the alterations would be made public in due course, adding that they are presently in the hands of Health CS Susan Nakhumicha.
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“We are building capacity, and NHIF should be able to transition,” he continued, adding that the CS was in a stronger position to explain the changes, including the funding model.
At the NHIF-EACC Fraud Prevention Audit inauguration at the Fund’s headquarters on Upper Hill in Nairobi, Kamau, a former Transport Cabinet Secretary, spoke. EACC will examine NHIF systems for 45 days to identify loopholes that facilitate corruption and make recommendations to improve service delivery.
The proposed Primary Health Care Bill of 2023, the Digital Health Bill of 2023, the Facility Improvement Financing Bill of 2023, and the Social Health Insurance Bill of 2023 will serve as the foundation for the new three funds.
Since assuming office, Ruto has alluded to the possibility of reforming the fund, which he claims should cover all households’ medical expenses. Additionally, the President has proposed a new deduction model that will require Kenya’s highest earners to contribute more to the fund.
The National Health Insurance Fund Regulations of 2023 proposed that all employed Kenyans contribute 2.75 percent of their monthly total salaries to the National Health Insurance Fund. Currently, employee deductions are calculated based on the employee’s compensation scale.
“It makes no logic that the president pays Ksh1,700 per month for NHIF while the average citizen pays only Ksh600. Ruto stated at a rally in May, “My salary is Ksh1 million, while the bodaboda earns Ksh700.”
NHIF Explains Ruto’s Agency Split Into 3
