The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) in this picture taken on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG
The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is on the spot over Sh600 million spent on security officers who exceed their medical insurance.
The Interior Ministry told the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the NHIF is unable to provide payment schedules indicating the beneficiaries of the annual allocation of Sh200 million.
The ministry said it cannot ascertain how NHIF used the Sh600 million in the past three financial years, given that the insurer did not seek authorisation from the Inspector General of Police (IG) to spend more on officers who exhausted limits.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho told MPs that the NHIF has refused to provide details of police officers who exceeded their cover in the review period.
The ministry entered into a Sh4.78 billion contract with the NHIF for a comprehensive medical insurance scheme for 131,816 security personnel attached to the Kenya Police, Administration Police and Prisons for 2018 /19, 2019/20 and 2020/21.
The deal also included an excess loss cover amount of Sh200 million annually to cushion police officers who might exhaust their limits.
The agreement requires the NHIF to refund the excess budget to the Interior ministry.
Dr Kibicho, who last year told MPs that the ministry had withheld Sh400 million meant for police insurance cover, maintained that Interior Ministry will not release the cash to the NHIF without documents.
“We have been struggling to get the payment schedules the NHIF relied on to pay the affected persons,” Dr Kibicho said on audit queries for 2020/21.
emutai@ke.nationmedia.com
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