The government on Friday came out to address concerns raised by Kenyans on the amount of money that should be remitted to the Social Health Authority (SHA) following its rollout earlier this month.
In a statement, the SHA Chief Executive Officer Elijah Wachira noted that Section 17 (1) of the Social Health Insurance (SHI) regulations strictly outlined that a household whose income is derived from salaried employment would pay a monthly statutory deduction.
According to Wachira, the deduction would be made at the rate of 2.75 per cent and would be made from the gross salary or wage of the individual with regular earnings and remitted by the employer by the ninth day of each month.
“Reference is made to frequently asked questions affecting statutory deductions on the gross salary among other concerns. The 2.75 per cent is made on Gross salary or wage for a household whose income is derived from salaried employment including basic salary and allowances paid to an employee on a regular monthly basis as a salary or a wage,” the ministry stated.
The SHA CEO was forced to set the record straight following reports of alleged delay in remittance by some employers who faulted the government for failing to offer clarification on how the deductions were supposed to be made.
While reiterating the matter, Wachira cautioned employers against remitting matching contributions to SHA. According to him, all deductions should be made based on one’s gross monthly income.
Wachira further stated that the Authority was privy to information that a section of employers were remitting a uniform amount of money to SHA for each employee.
He further disclosed that the contributors under the new health insurance scheme qualified for tax relief. However, to obtain tax relief, one must seek clarity from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
“Our view is that Contributors to the SHIF should qualify for insurance relief but advise that you get in touch with KRA for concurrence on this,” Wachira stated.
The clarification comes a week after Heath Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai assured the public that challenges experienced at the initial phase of the SHA rollout are being tackled.
Speaking in Nairobi during a stakeholder meeting, PS Kimtai further confirmed that the rate of payment was at 2.75 per cent of the household income adding that for those not on the payroll, a fair premium would be determined based on their capability using a means testing tool.
“The enrolment has been successful. We have agreed in this meeting that we will work with Counties to increase registration. I want to assure the public that they will get more benefits than they did under NHIF,” Kimtai he explained.
