A man fills NHIF registration forms in Kisumu during a previous registration drive. PHOTO/FILE
By STELLAR MURUMBA, smurumba@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) has set
itself an ambitious target of recruiting 12 million Kenyans in the
informal sector as it moves to roll out the second phase of its mass
recruitment drive.
The figure is nearly four times the 3.5 million people it
registered from the formal sector in the first phase of the campaign
that also brought in 2.5 million salaried workers.
The drive is hinged on recent roll out of an
‘affordable’ care package which allows informal sector workers to
contribute Sh500 monthly or Sh6,000 per year.
“We will start the campaign in October and run it
until December because every Kenyan should have a health insurance
package,” said NHIF chief executive, Geoffrey Mwangi.
“We have been going round doing a lot of campaign
and the message has sunk but we still need to keep informing people so
that those who are still out there can come on board,”
Health Cabinet Secretary, Cleopa Mailu said the
drive will push Kenya towards universal health coverage and protect
citizens from out-of-pocket expenses incurred by most citizens.
The NHIF had earlier increased inpatient and
outpatient benefits enabling members to access dialysis, chemotherapy,
radiotherapy and theatre services.
Members in the formal sector contribute on a
graduated scale rate that is calculated at 2.5 per cent of one’s income
but capped at Sh1,700.
This translates to a minimum of Sh150 per month for
those who earn less than Sh6,000 per month to a maximum of Sh1,700 per
month for those whose monthly take-home is above Sh100,000.
“Going forward it should be an employer-employee
contribution so that we are not limited from offering some benefits to
our members. It has however been a progressive journey and we can say
that we are better off now than where we were a couple of years back,”
said Mr Mwangi.
Some services are, however, not covered under the
increased benefits in some facilities. Currently, NHIF maternity care
packages reimburses Sh10,000 for a normal delivery and Sh30,000 for any
delivery via Caesarean Section in only 2,000 contracted health
facilities.
“We understand that some services such as CT scans,
MRI, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and kidney dialysis are not available
in all facilities.
Members can however get them in high end hospitals
such as Nairobi, Aga Khan University, Mater and MP Shah but within
limit,” said Mwangi.
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