MPs have amended the law to ensure that employees will be compensated for hospital bills incurred whenever their employers fail to remit their contributions to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover.
The changes to the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act compel businesses, county governments, and State agencies to reimburse their workers for paying medical bills out of pocket due to suspension of the NHIF cover.
Besides compensating their workers, they are also required to pay penalties for delayed remission of the NHIF contributions.
This is a positive step and could help check the reckless behaviour by some organisations that don’t value the welfare of their employees.
In recent years there has emerged a trend whereby some firms, especially State-backed ones, fail to remit statutory deductions, including NHIF fees, leaving thousands of employees highly inconvenienced.
For example, in the event of default in remitting NHIF deductions workers are always forced to pay out of pocket or seek family’s or friends’ support to foot medical bills because of suspension of the cover by the State-backed insurer.
The amendment to the NHIF Act by the MPs is therefore timely and will help protect employee welfare particularly around this time when most households are still reeling from the economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.Unfortunately, the NHIF Act of 1998 currently does not force employers to compensate their workers whenever their insurance cover is suspended for non-remittance.
Quality healthcare is a critical matter that should not be compromised by incompetent firms that fail to remit the statutory deductions.
Remittance of statutory, loan, and members' deductions to SACCOs and banks is a mandatory employer obligation and all defaulting firms should not go unpunished
Employers should always strive to honour their statutory obligations through proper financial planning and management.
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