Non-Kenyan residents travelling to Kenya for less than 12 months may soon be required to register their travel health insurance under the Social Health Authority (SHA), following a recent development.
This comes after Principal Secretaries for Medical Services and Immigration and Citizen Services, Dr. Ouma Oluga and Dr. Belio Kipsang, met on Thursday, May 8, to deliberate on the matter.
In a statement released after the meeting, the PSs stated that the discussion was in line with President William Ruto’s directive.
"Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr. Ouma Oluga, today paid a courtesy call on the Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Dr. Belio Kipsang, to deliberate on the implementation of the Mandatory Inbound Travel Health Insurance under the Social Health Authority," read part of the statement.
The two held a consultative meeting at Dr. Kipsang’s Nairobi office, focusing on how their respective departments can collaborate to operationalise the Presidential directive requiring non-Kenyans staying in Kenya for less than twelve months to possess valid travel health insurance. Also in attendance was the Director General for Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth.
The development comes as the government seeks to enhance the uptake of insurance under the Social Health Authority (SHA), launched in October last year as part of efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
In November, the government directed the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to compile a list of competent insurance companies that could offer the mandatory travel health insurance cover to individuals entering the country.
In a letter to the IRA Chief Executive Officer, Godfrey Kiptum, then Principal Secretary for Medical Services Harry Kimtai, noted that the selected companies would provide travel health insurance cover for all short-term visitors to Kenya.
"The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to request you to urgently provide us with a list of licensed or approved inbound travel health insurance products or providers for the purposes of undertaking a restricted tendering process," read part of the letter.
"Providers listed will then be issued with a request for proposal with the appropriate specifications."
This means that any insurance company seeking to offer the new travel health insurance product must apply to the IRA for registration as a provider.
“In this regard, the Ministry of Health has commenced the process of establishing the necessary administrative framework for the implementation of the policy and legal requirements,” Kimtai stated.
