NHIF contributions mandatory for all Kenyans after lawmakers pass the bill
Employers have been spared after the National Assembly dismissed an amendment compelling them to make an equal contribution for their employees to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
However, employers with workers earning less than Sh12,000 will be forced to top up their contributions to the NHIF and will face severe charges if they fail to do so.
“The base of contribution will be Sh500. But there are employees in the private sector who contribute Sh150 or Sh300. The import of this amendment is to ensure that the private sector employers simply top up the difference to ensure employees base is Sh500,” Majority Leader Amos Kimunya said.
Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday evening backed NHIF Amendment Bill which will now makes it compulsory for every Kenyan above 18 years, employed or unemployed to contribute to the fund.
All adults will be compelled to pay Sh500 monthly or Sh6,000 annually in a remodelled Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme for outpatient and inpatient services, including maternity, dialysis, cancer treatment and surgery.
This will also usher in a paradigm shift with regard to access to health insurance, with the fund being converted from a Hospital Insurance to a Health Insurance.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe hinted at NHIF regulating costs of Covid-19 treatment if the bill is passed.
However, to attain it, Kagwe said that many people have to enroll for NHIF to make it possible to change what the insuarance is offering to the public.
“We need to get to a point where NHIF card pays for everything and everybody, not just other disease but also even Covid-19. The way to get it done is to ensure many people have enrolled for NHIF, once we’ve got that massive people it is then possible to change what NHIF is offering to the public,” he said.
