Kisumu Residents to Get Free Medical Insurance

Kisumu CBD
An image of Kisumu Central Business District
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Kisumu County Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o on Monday, March 8 launched a project dubbed Marwa Solidarity Health Insurance Scheme where 350,000 beneficiaries are set to access health insurance for free.

The governor said the scheme is part of the Kisumu County Health Act, 2019  which requires the implementation of mandatory health insurance for all Kisumu residents. 

“Marwa is about enabling people to access quality and affordable healthcare. It is the foundational investment in human capital and towards ending extreme poverty. Marwa marks my commitment to ensure that all Kisumu residents regardless of their status access decent healthcare,” said Nyong’o.

A photo showing National the Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) headquarters in Nairobi.
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) headquarters in Nairobi.
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NHIF

The project which targets the vulnerable in Kisumu is set to cost Ksh540 million from the annual County Health Insurance fund and will be rolled out in two phases. 

  

According to the project's schedule, the Kisumu government will pay a total of Ksh6,000 annually for each of the first 90,000 households who are already enrolled in the program.

Beneficiaries of the medical cover will only require their mobile numbers or identification cards to access the cover.

Through the support from PharmAccess, a Non-Governmental Organization, the county is investing Ksh67,500,000 as payment for the first phase of payment for the 45,000 most vulnerable households. 

The County boss also said that an additional 255,000 which comprises of self-paying households are being targeted to benefit in the next 12 months.

Boaz Nyunya who is the County Health Executive said that the current beneficiaries were identified from the 2019 economic survey indicators.

“We will evaluate the first phase of the project and see its viability which will then inform how soon we roll out the second phase,” said Nyunya.

The county partnered with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to ensure that vulnerable residents get similar medical covers similar to those enrolled for the NHIF super cover. 

In 2020, Nyongo's government signed a memorandum of understanding with NHIF for funding and provision of a social health insurance cover to all the county's vulnerable households.

The county has identifid 48 public health facilities across the seven sub-counties where Marwa beneficiaries can access health services.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta inspecting the construction of hospitals in informal settlements on Monday 10 August 2020.
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