The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atellah on Tuesday, May 2, rejected President William Ruto's plan to reform the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
According to Dr. Atellah, the president cannot claim to increase NHIF funds by raising deductions from workers by up to 2.75 per cent of gross salaries yet the government slashed NHIF funding.
"Civil servants' medical allowance was removed from payslip to cover NHIF comprehensive services. And now without a medical allowance or salary increases. We cannot subject ourselves to extractive action on workers' payslips.
Instead, workers expect a salary increase to deal with the cost of living and inflation," read part of the statement.
Furthermore, the KMPDU boss disclosed that the national and county governments had directed over Ksh120 billion of remittances from NHIF to private insurance companies.
On Monday, May 1, Ruto announced that the government had changed the contribution formula and that those paying Ksh500 will part with Ksh300 every month.
During the Labour Day celebrations, Ruto stated that his contribution to the fund will increase from Ksh1,700 to Ksh27,500.
"It does not make sense that the president pays Ksh1,700 every month and the normal mwananchi pays Ksh600 to have NHIF. My salary is Ksh1 million, and the boda boda guy earns an average of Ksh5,000. Is it sensible?" Ruto posed.
“Everyone one of us is going to contribute 2.7 per cent of their earning to NHIF so that we can carry this load of health equally,” Ruto declared.
In the proposed reforms, those earning a gross salary of Ksh50,000 will contribute Ksh1,350 monthly, Ksh100,000 will contribute Ksh2,700 per month, Ksh200,000 earners will part with Ksh5,400 every month while those earning a gross salary of Ksh300,000 will pay Ksh8,100 monthly.
Furthermore, Ruto explained that the government was in top gear to introduce a volunteer program targeting to have 100,000 community health promoters who will aid in delivering health services to low-income Kenyans.
In a partnership between the national and county government, the volunteers will be remunerated on a 50-50 basis.
