Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has come out to address concerns raised by Kenyans about contributions to the new Social Health Authority.
Speaking in Kisumu on Wednesday night, the CS expressed confidence that the government had put in mechanisms to ensure all Kenyans from different social classes were included in the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) model.
She said no person would be left behind since those unable to pay the Ksh.300 minimum premiums would be paid for by the government through a subsidy program which would be rolled out in July this year.
According to the CS, phasing out the longstanding National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and replacing it with SHIF was more beneficial to ordinary citizens since everybody would be contributing to the SHA.
“In the current law, we have put mechanisms of enforcing people to pay their Social Health Authority. So, already there is a population that the National Government is going to take care of at Ksh.300 per person per month for their insurance,” Nakhumicha said.
“For those who can’t pay won’t pay, they have no income, the government is putting in a subsidy to pay for their SHA,” she added, in contrast to employed Kenyans who will be deducted the premiums from their monthly pay.
The health minister said they have put in mechanisms to ensure Kenyans in the informal Kenyans will be required to pay for their SHA “at the point (they) interact with a government service.”
Nakhumicha said the new health insurance model will have the provision of borrowing from the government-run Hustler Fund or Saccos, for those with unstable income patterns, so that they can pay their premiums and repay the lenders later.
