The Ministry of Health has initiated the process of restructuring the National Health Insurance Fund.
Health CS Susan Wafula on Wednesday met key sector leadership from both the fund and the Federation of Kenya Employers.
The meeting between the CS, NHIF CEO Peter Kamunyo, board chairperson Michael Kamau and FKE CEO Jacqueline Mugo kick starts the process of changing the fund to the National Social Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF) as had been hinted by the ministry last month.
The CS in February disclosed that there were plans to change the name from NHIF to National Social Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF).
She said the mulled change of name from the National Health Insurance Fund has been necessitated by the need to focus on primary and preventive healthcare.
“We have the one for elderly, for orphaned children, we have Linda Mama, we have Edu Afya; so what we are going to do with the NSHIF is we want to bring these funds together so that we shall no longer have them in silos,” she explained.
During the meeting, the leadership outlined the plans and strategies for restructuring NHIF to NSHIF, which will include expanding the number of services covered and the network of healthcare providers.
This seeks to ensure it benefits Kenyans in accessing quality and affordable healthcare and drives the attainment of the Universal Health Coverage agenda.
Also discussed was the importance of public education and awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that Kenyans understand the benefits of the new NSHIF.
Measures to ensure that employers and employees are adequately represented in the new NSHIF governance structure were also suggested.
The new plan will ensure increased efficiency and transparency of the fund.
Wafula emphasized the government's determination to achieve UHC, which is a key priority in the Big Four Agenda, and reiterated the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in achieving the goal.
The Kamunyo and Kamau pledged to work closely with the government to ensure the successful implementation of the restructuring process.
The CS noted that there currently exist several schemes that take care of different cohorts of people, adding that there is a need to consolidate them into one as one big fund.
The CS has estimated that once put together, the various schemes will give close to Sh12.6 billion.
“With this Sh12.6 billion we are now doing the math and see how much more the government should add so that each and every Kenyan can be able to access healthcare down there,” she said.
The ministry expects to raise additional funds for the health scheme through the tobacco control fund and from a fraction of the betting fund.
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