Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has said the increased National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) monthly contributions is a scam in waiting.
The senator said the 2.75 per cent NHIF increment is another corruption loophole.
Senator Onyonka while speaking during an interview with Citizen TV claimed NHIF contributions have always encouraged money squandering and Kenyans do not benefit from them.
According to Onyonka,the countless number of scams linked to NHIF prove the health fund to be nothing but a ‘white elephant’.
“Why has NHIF in Kenya failed? Because money is stolen from it what has been the issue? How many scandals have we gotten from the NHIF?” he posed.
“Who doesn’t know that hospitals organize, and patients are taken to certain hospitals and payments are made to people who actually do not go there for treatment other than documentation which is done and it’s all fake.” He added.
The Kisii legislator further proposed that Kenya needs to benchmark with countries whose health insurance schemes have proven to be effective to bolster its administrative structures.
“Let’s find out what the other countries are doing like Britain has maintained and managed the provision of healthcare, they have been organizing the funding,” he said.
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“When you come to us and look at a country like Tanzania, why is Tanzania’s NHIF functioning more effectively? What do we do in Kenya? We pick NHIF money we then put it in a scam, the whole system collapses, we employ relatives, we put them in these jobs, and they steal all the money then you call again after 2 or 3 years.” Senator Onyonka noted.
Nonetheless, Senator Onyonka’s remarks comes after the head of state said he is seeking to compel salaried workers to pay 2.75 per cent of their gross monthly income to the health scheme with those who are self-employed to remit 2.75 per cent of their declared or assessed gross monthly income.
Moreover, NHIF board chairman Michael Kamau defended the proposal, saying that it aims to achieve equity in consolidating contributions to the health fund.
He added that the low-income earners have been carrying the burden of the contributions to NHIF hence the need to create a level playing field.
“The rule of average… 2.75 per cent is not an increase. Tell anybody paid less than Ksh.35,000 to bring their pay slip and you will find out that some of them were paying up to 5 per cent of their salary. So, there was no equity,” said Kamau.
