- On Tuesday, the National Assembly agreed with the Senate to approve the amendments to exempt Kenyans from contributing to the Fund.
- The Bill now awaits President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assent to become law.
Parliament has scuttled the government’s plan to attain the universal health coverage through mandatory membership of the National Insurance Fund for adults.
The legislators have amended and passed NHIF (Amendment) Bill excusing jobless Kenyans from compulsory enrolment with the national health insurer.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly agreed with the Senate to approve the amendments to exempt Kenyans from contributing to the fund.
The Bill now awaits President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assent to become law.
Initially, the Bill required that all Kenyans aged 18 and above enrol with NHIF in what the government hoped would help it realise the UHC that has been in the pipeline since 2018.
It required all adults to pay at least Sh500 monthly or Sh6,000 annually in the re-modelled Universal Health Coverage scheme.
The Bill had proposed that NHIF board would determine the rate that the unemployed Kenyans would pay to the fund.
The programme has been piloted in four counties – Kisumu, Machakos, Nyeri and Garissa. However, the national rollout has hit a snag due to teething challenges.
During his State of the Nation Address on November 30, the President appealed to Parliament to fast-track the passage of the Bill to ensure Kenyans get health coverage.
It’s also a sigh of relief for employers who have been exempted from mandatorily topping up contributions for their employees whose pay is less than Sh500.
“An employer other than the national government or county governments or their entities liable to pay a matching contribution under section 15 may be exempted from paying such matching contribution.
“.... if that employer has procured a private health insurance cover for its employees and the benefits are equal to or better than the benefits that the employees are entitled to under this Act," the amendments read.
It provides that an employer, other than the county and national government, can make an application to the NHIF board to be exempted from topping up the contributions for their employees.
Earlier, employers had petitioned Parliament to remove the proposal requiring them to match their workers’ NHIF contributions.
They argued that it would add burden to them as they struggle to recover from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lawmakers also amended the provision exempting national and county governments from penalties for failed or delayed disbursements to NHIF.
The amendments also reduced the proposed penalty for non-remittance of standard and matching contributions from Sh1 million to Sh500,000.
According to the initial version of the Bill, the county and national governments were exempted from penalties provided the delays in disbursement caused by the National Treasury.
But legislators said the provision is discriminatory and amended the clause.
“…. such an exemption is unfair and prejudicial against other employers,” they said.
They said that being the largest employer in the country, the government should bear responsibility for ensuring that all remittances due to NHIF are paid on time for sustainability of the fund.
During the debate on the Bill in the Senate, lawmakers said the proposed law will help many Kenyans who struggle to pay for their medical expenses.
“All of us agree that medical expenses are expensive to most of our people in this country. Most of us in both the National Assembly and the Senate are always participating in harambees to defray medical bills,” Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said.
Edited by A.N