Editor's Review

  • Every Kenyan home will soon pay a compulsory contribution to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
  • This will enable each home to be enrolled in a universal health coverage (UHC) scheme.

Every Kenyan home will soon pay a compulsory Ksh500 contribution to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

According to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, each household will pay Ksh6,000 annually to be enrolled in a universal health coverage (UHC) scheme.

The money will cover outpatient and inpatient services, including maternity, dialysis, cancer treatment and surgery.

“Government focus is on the establishment of a mandatory UHC scheme to be managed by NHIF and regulated by the Ministry of Health and act as the national scheme for all persons resident in Kenya, notwithstanding one’s social status,” the CS said.

This compulsory NHIF membership for all Kenyans will be an ascent of the current scheme where only workers in the formal sector are compelled to join.

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“Focus is also on the provision of health insurance cover to initially one million households who are vulnerable and unable to meet even that low-cost premium," CS Yatani explained.

"The identification of these one million households by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and the counties across the entire country has already begun,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Health, the proposed law on the management of the UHC scheme would be tabled in Parliament soon.