NHIF spent Sh1.36 billion as payment towards treatment for cancer in the 2017/18 financial
year, an increase of 11 per cent from Sh1.23 billion spent within the same period in the previous year.
The Fund's latest utilisation report indicates that in the last five years, NHIF has steadily increased its care benefit packages from two to more than ten.
Speaking on Tuesday, NHIF acting Chief Executive Officer Nicodemus Odongo said the Oncology Cancer treatment package has seen thousands of families save millions of shillings in hospital bills both in Kenya and abroad, given that cancer is one of the most expensive diseases to treat.
Data from Afya Smiles Kenya, a premier health website, estimates the costs of chemotherapy to be between Sh10,000 and Sh82,000 per session in a public hospital, and Sh35,000 to Sh500,000 per session in private hospitals.
On average, a patient can spend more than Sh1 million for cancer treatment, but with an active NHIF membership, the same patient can have the card pay for the treatment.
Every day, at least one person is diagnosed with cancer in Kenya and 10 people weekly.
Statistics further show that over 10,000 people travel abroad each year to seek treatment, and among those, a staggering 70 per cent are going to seek cancer treatment.
”NHIF thus strives to continually review its benefits packages and organize them towards providing support to all its members. These benefit packages aim to provide financial risk protection,” Odongo said.
Most cancer patients enrolled with NHIF get access to treatment as the Fund pays for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and even diagnostic tests, such as MRIs and CT scans.
For a member to get services like radiotherapy or chemotherapy, he or she must first seek authorisation from the NHIF before treatment commences. This involves having a form filled in by the attending doctors, specifying the therapy to be administered, total sessions needed and the medicines to be given.
"Currently, the NHIF care package entails up to 10 chemotherapy sessions, oral and injectable anti-cancers drugs, inpatient and outpatient oncology services, 20 sessions for radiotherapy, and up to two sessions for Brachytherapy for advanced cancer, per year," he said.
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Among the health facilities that offer the package include some level five and six hospitals, and selected private hospitals in urban centres.
NHIF covers six sessions for the first line treatment for up to Sh25,000 per session, four sessions for the second and third line treatment for up to Sh150,000 per session and 20 sessions of radiotherapy at Sh3,600 per session.
A biopsy is covered under the surgical package. Radiology is also done during the diagnosis stage, and this includes MRIs, ultrasounds, or CT scan and PET scan, also covered by NHIF.
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