• The AAR Kenya medical scheme lapsed at the end of the the last financial year on June 30. County evaluating tenders.
• The union highlighted shortcomings in the NHIF scheme that proposed Sh737 million compared to AAR which had charged Sh850 million annual cover.
Nairobi county workers want City Hall to fast-track a broad new medical provider after the deal with AAR Kenya expired last month.
The staff currently can only access basic national cover through the National Hospital Insurance Fund. They are worried about Covid-19 and the latest highly infectious Delta strain.
Kenya County Government Workers Union Nairobi branch secretary Festus Ngari said staff are restricted to one hospital. They are at a loss in deciding whether to choose one upcountry or in Nairobi.
“We are exposed as from beginning of this month. We could only access the normal national cover through the NHIF card. The county should fast-track evaluation of bidders so we get comprehensive medical cover,” he said on Tuesday.
Ngari said the union has not received any updates on when the tendering process will end or if there was interest.
“The director of procurement and supply chain management Joshua Kimeu said they have only opened the tenders and are still evaluating them," he said.
With basic NHIF cover, county workers have reduced in-patient and outpatient treatment, restrictions on chronic illnesses and exclusion of cover for pandemics — all were covered by AAR.
Having lost substantial benefits, workers say they have less cover for dental and optical care, and the pre-authorisation process is cumbersome.
“We want a comprehensive cover that will meet our needs. Our position still stands that NHIF is a bad deal still, Ngari added.
Early this month, the union accused the Ann Kananu-led administration of forcefully planning to enrol them into the NHIF scheme after the lapse of AAR plan on June 30, citing reduced benefits for members.
They threatened industrial action should the county government go ahead with forced enrollment into the NHIF scheme.
The union highlighted several shortcomings in the NHIF scheme which costs Sh737 million compared to AAR which had cost Sh850 million annually.
Group Life Cover of Sh850,000 received by the lowest-ranked member has been reduced to Sh700,000.
Also, staff between job groups A and K enjoyed unlimited outpatient services but this has now been capped at Sh100,000 and the facilities they can visit are limited.
(Edited by V. Graham)