The National Treasury, on Saturday, June 10, moved to avert a looming crisis in the Health sector, a day after Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha admitted that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) was struggling to meet its obligation.
In a statement, CS Nakhumicha disclosed that Treasury remitted funds to the cash-stricken parastatal. The money would help NHIF honour claims by various service providers nationwide.
"Facilities claims will be settled effective immediately, but I must reiterate that we will ensure prudence and accountability in this exercise," Nakhumicha assured.
However, the government would verify the claims before disbursing the funds as it was keen on sealing all graft loopholes. She further argued that the process would flush out providers making extraneous claims.
"As such, all claims will be thoroughly verified before settlement to enable us to utilise the available resources in the best way possible," she insisted.
The CS thus directed health facilities to resume operations, urging them against turning away patients with NHIF cards.
A section of Kenyans had protested the move demanding the immediate release of funds to honour their claims.
On Friday, June 9, CS Nakhumicha admitted that NHIF was financially constrained but vowed to address the situation following a meeting with President William Ruto.
"Kenya is broke, and that is the fact that no one can deny at all. The cash crisis has even affected NHIF and that is the whole truth. We are working on all available interventions to see how we will address the situation," she stated.
"I want to assure Kenyans that we sat down with the President this week and informed him about the necessity of the health sector in the country. I told him that he should prioritise the matter and look for funds to pay NHIF. He agreed," the CS added.
She also campaigned for the Finance Bill 2023, stating that the income generation measures would spur the economy.
Ruto, in his pledge, vowed to revitalise the NHIF sector. He noted that the sector was key to helping Kenyans access affordable health care. The President proposed reducing NHIF contributions for low-income earners from Ksh500 to Ksh300 starting July 2023.
High-income earners will contribute 2.7 per cent of their earnings to spread the load equally.
