The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will no longer settle Covid-19 bills for Kenyans remitting Ksh 500 or lesser premiums monthly.
A report by Daily Nation indicated that only those who remit more than the aforementioned amount will benefit from the service.
Quoting NHIF Chairman Lewis Nguyai, the Kimathi Street-based media house revealed that those who remitted Ksh1,700 would be fully covered.
With the latest announcement, a majority of Kenyans who rely on the fund to pay for their Covid-19 bills including bed charges will be left stranded.
This comes even as the government reckons a more lethal fourth wave is likely to hit the country in July.
Nguyai explained that it did not make sense for the organisation to pay for the patients under the Supa Cover category because their remittance of Ksh 500 did not much their benefit claims.
"Divide Ksh8 million and see how many families paying Ksh 500 will have deprived the fund. Statistically, this is not attainable at present.
"We are working on modalities to see how we can cover them, though it is a risk that we also don't understand," explained the chairman.
It is estimated that hospital charges for patients with mild symptoms is Ksh21,000 per day while critically-ill patients may fork up to Ksh 51,000 over the same period.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has previously cautioned Kenyans to be vigilant since the new Indian variant was detected in Kisumu and some other parts of Western Kenya.
“We are asking County Governments to prepare themselves, particularly with the supply of oxygen and piping the hospitals and increasing the capacity over what we currently have,” he stated.
In a proposed bill before Parliament, NHIF has increased penalties for false insurance claims from Ksh 500,000 to Ksh10 million.
