Why employers should not delay NHIF contributions

NHIF’s arrangement with nearly all public and faith-based health facilities is simple.

NHIF beneficiaries should walk in, get all insured services, and walk out without paying anything out of pocket.

Private facilities have a different plan. They ask clients to pay a small portion of the cost directly and bill NHIF the balance.

But in the last two months, the fund has not honoured those bills. 

Many private facilities, therefore, demanded their clients pay everything out of pocket to access services.

The fund receives about Sh60 billion every year, mostly from employers after deducting their workers' pay, and directly from unemployed members.

It spends about 10 per cent on administrative costs. The rest clears invoices from facilities that treated NHIF beneficiaries.

The problem is government, a major employer, collected about Sh20 billion from its workers and did not remit the money to NHIF.

Therefore, the fund delayed paying health facilities, which then stopped offering services to the beneficiaries on credit.

The fund has 15.6 million members, each with approximately three dependents.

Health CS Susan Wafula last week said Treasury had paid some of this debt, without stating the amount.

Delaying NHIF contributions is damaging because most workers and their families depend on the fund for their health needs.

The fund must also utilise the money it receives prudently, and ruthlessly curb fraud by service providers, especially private hospitals.

Quote of the Day: “No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life.”

Jordan Peterson

The Canadian psychologist and author was born on June 12, 1962