Starting March 1, all Kenyans aged 21 years old and above will be required to make monthly payments towards the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Unemployed 21-year-olds will be required to pay Ksh300 per month while those with monthly income will contribute 2.75 per cent of their salary.
The Social Health Insurance Act, of 2023, though has a four-year window in which the 21-year olds can continue being beneficiaries of their parent’s insurance coverage.
The loophole includes being under a full-time education course or working on a part-time basis.
“A beneficiary is a person who is undergoing a full-time course of education at a university, college, school or other educational establishment,” the Act gives a reprieve.
As such, students who do not proceed to tertiary education after their secondary school education will then be subjected to the mandatory deductions.
21-year-olds serving under articles or an indenture will also be considered for SHIF payment exemptions.
This encompasses students who are studying on a part-time basis while working in the formal sector.
The category will only be considered if they are studying with a view to qualifying in a trade or profession.
Additionally, the part-time students will have to prove to the Ministry of Health that they are not receiving any salary in the company they are working for and are solely dependent on a scholarship, bursary, grant or any other academic award.
Once the students celebrate their 25th birthday, they will be subject to the mandatory deductions regardless of whether they are enrolled as full-time or part-time students.
Those who will still be unemployed will be connected to financial institutions who will cover the Ksh300 fee which will be deducted automatically should they land a job.
Persons with a disability will indefinitely be listed as beneficiaries under their parent's or guardian's SHIF coverage.
Additionally, should the 21-year-old decide to get married before their 25th birthday, coverage will be under the spouse if she/he is a contributor.
