Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha has announced that the start of deductions for the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will be postponed until July. The deductions were initially scheduled to begin in the first week of March.
Registration of members on the new fund, which is replacing the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), will now take place between March and June 30. Individuals who were previously enrolled under the now-defunct NHIF will need to undergo a fresh registration process for the revamped social health scheme.
The Health CS made this announcement during a national validation event conducted at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) yesterday, stating that the updated regulations have been positively received by many Kenyans.
“Our aim as a ministry is to commence registration from the first week of march and this will go on up to June and thereafter, we intend to begin contributions at a rate of 2.75 per cent with a minimum payment of Sh300. Our hope is that access to these benefits will start in the month of July,” she said.
Some of the issues that have come up include the mean testing tool that will be used to determine how much non- salaried contributors will pay into the fund. Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, urged the national government to streamline the rollout of the Primary Healthcare Fund to ensure that it benefits both the public and private sector.
Responding to the concerns by the county governments and representatives of other bodies, Ms Nakhumicha said that the concerns will be addressed before presenting the regulations to the Parliament for approval.
