The Ministry of Health, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), and stakeholders in the private and faith-based health sector have today signed the new 2022-2024 contracts to fast-track universal health.
This is to implement the new benefits package, with the fresh contracts commencing tomorrow 1st July 2022 on a two-year contracting cycle.
Speaking at a press briefing, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe noted that Kenyans will access services in more than 7,600 healthcare facilities spread across the country of which 80 per cent are comprehensively contracted.
“The strategic standardisation of hospital contracts is critical to increase quality of care, efficiency and productivity which is critical for the implementation of Universal health coverage (UHC) in our country,” he said.
According to the Kenya Essential Package for Health (KEPH) levels of Kenya, the contracts aim to standardize reimbursement rates across all HCPs.
They have been divided into two categories: comprehensive within the scope and non-comprehensive.
“The reimbursement amount has been enhanced by an average 12 per cent and standardized across all providers. Oncology has been expanded to include bone scans and radionuclide therapy and access to pet scans and access increased to 3 providers,” Kagwe noted.
In January the stakeholders held a meeting and agreed that the Fund reached a temporary consensus to offer services after an extension of healthcare providers’ contracts until June.
According to the contracts, dialysis is covered comprehensively in over 50 healthcare providers countrywide.
Kagwe further noted the mental health package has also been enhanced due to the population-based survey on the increasing need for specialized mental and behavioural health services.
