Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has explained the sole reason why President William Ruto's administration is scrapping the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and replacing it with the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday, January 24, the CS explained that NHIF has been plagued with an issue of revenue leakages.
Besides revenue leakages, the CS explained that the soon-to-be-defunct NHIF has also been captured by certain private hospitals through dishonest practices.
"We're grappling with a substantial revenue leakage problem. Instances where a patient undergoes multiple amputations at the same spot on the left knee point to clear cases of fraud," she stated.
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The CS cited a case where a caesarian section was paid Ksh. 10,000 in a public hospital and Ksh. 200,000 in a private one.
Moreover, CS Nakhumicha argued that the NHIF system was characterised by fundamental flaws that made it an unviable medical cover option for Kenyans.
“The system that we have had (NHIF) predominantly has been curative in nature; that it waits for you to get sick then it treats you. What we’re moving to is preventive and promotive in nature; so that we try as much as possible to prevent citizens from getting sick,” she stated.
“We try as much as possible to promote good health amongst the citizens, and that is why we’re doing it with our Community Health Promoters; that they get into households and shift people’s thinking that you don’t have to wait until you’re sick, that if only you engaged in proper sanitation, there’s something that you’re going to avoid.”
Salary Deduction.
Further CS Nakhumicha justified the reason for capping deductions in the scheme at 2.75 per cent. The CS told the public that the figure was arrived at by actuarial scientists domiciled at the Ministry of Health.
According to the CS, the scientists evaluated the general modalities and then calculated the percentage based on the money needed to fund all public health facilities in Kenya.
“First we looked at the baseline. We took into consideration the existing National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and what were the ranges of payment,” she explained.
“When we looked at it, the person who was paid the most is anybody earning Ksh10,000 and below.”
CS Nakhumicha went ahead to also state that NHIF was only designed for salaried Kenyans who could afford to pay it, thereby overlooking unemployed citizens or those who do not have payslips at the end of the month.
She stated that the government deemed it fit to do away with this and institute a system that addresses the health concerns of all Kenyans.
Despite facing headwinds, the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will be rolled out in March of this year.
