- The NHIF will be repealed to pave the way for the Primary Healthcare Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund.
- Each of the funds will be managed and administered separately for efficiency.
The Cabinet on Tuesday repealed the National Health Insurance Fund and approved key steps that will see it replaced with three separate funds.
The NHIF will be refashioned under three funds that will be known as the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Social Health Insurance Fund and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund.
The Cabinet said the move was necessitated by the Kenya Kwanza administration's objective to accelerate the rollout of Universal Healthcare Coverage.
The Primary Healthcare Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund in its bid to accelerate universal health coverage.
Primary Healthcare Fund
The fund will be funded directly by the national government through the exchequer as part of the efforts to accelerate UHC.
Parliament will be required to pass the Primary Health Care Bill, 2023 which will provide areas that the government will directly deal with in the provision of healthcare.
The government’s health goal is the attainment of universal health care coverage for key services, including maternal, neonatal and child health services.
The Kenyan health system defines six levels of the hierarchy.
They are level 1, community services; level 2, dispensaries and clinics; level 3, health centres and maternity and nursing homes; level 4, subcounty hospitals and medium-sized private hospitals; level 5, county referral hospitals and large private hospitals; and level 6, national referral hospitals and large private teaching hospitals.
Primary Health Care services are primarily provided at levels 1 to 3.
Public Primary Health Care facilities are governed by health facility committees, which include the facility in charge and community representatives.
Social Health Insurance Fund
Through the social health insurance bill, 2023, the government intends to take away the insurance aspect from the National Hospital Insurance Fund to be run differently.
Social Health Insurance aims to protect all population groups against financial risks due to illness through a monthly premium.
Currently, Kenyans who are not in any formal employment pay Sh500 monthly to access medical services with President William Ruto proposing to slash the amount to Sh300 monthly.
The fund also provides insurance services to other civil servants including the police and the National Youth Service.
Under the new shift once parliament approves the bill, the new fund will particularly focus on social insurance for Kenyans.
The government is also expected to bring on board more state agencies to be insured by the fund as a way of enhancing its capacity.
Chronic and Critical Illness Fund
The fund will be dedicated to addressing critical illnesses among the Kenyan population including Cancer.
The President has previously said that cancer treatment is impoverishing households because of the high costs involved.
Currently, households are being forced to seek treatment overseas because of the high costs associated with local treatment.
The current financing model NHIF is blamed for a lack of capacity and efficiency, denying poor Kenyans under the fund timely resources to access treatment.
With this special fund dedicated to the treatment of chronic illness, Kenyans will be able to get a better financing treatment option that will lessen their financial burdens.