• Some 350 families from the Murang'a Township ward received their cards.
• Kang’ata said the programme will be a milestone in assisting the less fortunate members of society to access medical care with ease.
Image: FILE
At least 20,000 vulnerable families in Murang’a will from this month enjoy enhanced medical cover after receiving NHIF cards, courtesy of the county administration.
The county government started issuing NHIF cards to the beneficiaries in Murang’a township ward on January 1.
During the exercise graced by Governor Irungu Kang’ata, 350 families from the ward received their cards.
Kang’ata said the programme will be a milestone in assisting the less fortunate members of society to access medical care with ease.
The exercise of issuing NHIF cards to beneficiaries will run in all 35 wards over the course of the week.
“Some 20,000 families have been initially selected after undergoing a thorough vetting exercise, which means with an average of five people in a family, the cover will end up benefitting at least 100,000 people from the county," Kang'ata said.
“This medical scheme came into effect at the onset of the New Year and we urge those who have been issued with the cards to consider visiting public hospitals, since there will be no cost limit unlike in private facilities.”
The governor said they have already paid Sh162 million to NHIF for actualisation of the cover following the county assembly’s decision to pass a supplementary budget early last month.
“The money allocated in the programme dubbed, Kang’ata Care is Sh170 million out of which Sh162 million was paid to NHIF, while the remaining balance catered to administration costs,” Kang'ata said.
The cover also caters to the last expense for the principal member, spouse, children and parents of both parties.
“In the last expense, in case of death, the principal member and spouse will be paid Sh100,000, while children under 18 years and parents will be paid Sh50,000,” Kang’ata said.
He said the programme comes at a time when many deprived families are struggling to cater to the treatment of their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the governor has lauded digitisation of revenue collection in the county, saying the move had enabled the devolved unit to double its revenue over the past few months.
The governor said the digital method of revenue collection, which is being piloted in a few sectors, will be rolled out in the entire county later this month.
Kang’ata said 30 per cent of revenue collected from public hospitals will be retained at the source to facilitate operations of the respective facilities.
“The retained revenue will ensure the hospitals don’t lack basic necessities to ensure our people get drugs, among other key services, any time they seek medical attention,” he said.