Teachers And Other Civil Servants To Dig Deep Into Their Pockets As NHIF Hike Monthly Contributions
Teachers and other civil servants will have to dig deep into their pockets following the new regulations on monthly contributions.
According to new regulations published by NHIF on Wednesday, February 16, those earning more than Ksh100,000 will have to pay 1.7 percent of their gross salary.
The new proposals from National Health Insurance Funds to hike monthly contributions plus imposing a penalty to those who will fail to register to be members has elicited a backlash from Kenyans around the country.
More especially a cash penalty of Ksh 20,000 for those who fail to register as NHIF members has not gone down well to the Kenyans.
The proposal to hike monthly contributions of top earners in the country is in contrast to the current policy whereby they pay a fixed monthly contribution of Ksh 1,700.
Those earning Ksh200,000 will have to part with Ksh 3,400- up from the current Ksh 1,700 indicating a double increment. In addition,
Kenyans earning Ksh500,000 will pay five-fold (Ksh 8,500 from the current Ksh 1,700).
The monthly contributions for informal workers are still capped at Ksh 500. The regulations will be implemented if Parliament approves the changes.
According to NHIF, the proposed changes are part of the Fund’s bid to ensure all Kenyans take part in the medical scheme by making mandatory monthly contributions.
The new move will see the monthly contributions to the Fund increase to a substantial amount as it recorded Ksh 61.5 billion in the 2021 annual contributions.
Other changes proposed by the Fund include the introduction of a biometric system that will contain details of all individuals and enable access to all services. The last review initiated by NHIF came in 2015 whereby they increased the amount from Ksh320 to an average of Ksh 500 to Ksh 1,700.
The government has been adamant in its call to all Kenyans to join the Fund in order to ensure a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) project initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta as part of his Big Four Agenda.
Currently, the number of employed Kenyans stands at an average of 17.4 million in the year 2020 which indicated a decrease from 18.1 million individuals in 2019.
