Cabinet Approves Plan To Dissolve NHIF, Replace It With 3 New Proposed Funds

• The Cabinet sitting at the Kakamega State Lodge on Tuesday, August 29 declared that NHIF will be replaced with three new proposed funding models
• This is within the Kenya Kwanza administration’s plan for a healthier nation espoused under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)
• A Cabinet dispatch showed that the Digital Health Bill addresses the existing legal and regulatory gaps in the framework for the e-health ecosystem

Kakamega - It is a new dawn in Kenya's healthcare sector after the Cabinet approved the scrapping of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

In the new plan, the Cabinet sitting at the Kakamega State Lodge on Tuesday, August 29 declared that NHIF will be replaced with three new funds.

A Cabinet dispatch seen by TUKO.co.ke showed that the move aligns with the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration’s pledge to accelerate Kenya’s attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

This, the Cabinet observed within the Kenya Kwanza administration’s plan for a healthier nation espoused under the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

"Cabinet considered and approved crucial Bills that promote healthcare, for transmission to Parliament," the dispatch reads in part.

The Bills include Primary Health Care Bill, 2023; Digital Health Bill, 2023; and Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023.

What are the new proposed Funds

Another Bill forwarded to Parliament for consideration is the Facility Improvement Financing Bill, of 2023.

"These Bills usher in a paradigm in the legal and institutional framework for healthcare in Kenya by repealing the current National Health Insurance Fund and establishing in its place the following funds: Primary Healthcare Fund; Social Health Insurance Fund; and Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund," the Cabinet dispatch reads further.

On the other hand, the Digital Health Bill addresses the existing legal and regulatory gaps in the framework for the e-health ecosystem and its data lifecycle, enabling the development of standards for the provision of m-health, telemedicine, and e-learning in healthcare.

"This new architecture is expected to provide a framework for improved health outcomes and financial protection of families in fidelity to the State’s solemn duty to guarantee the health and welfare of all her citizens," the Cabinet declared.

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that these developments left many Kenyans with questions on what the move by Cabinet meant even as the Bills are set to proceed to Parliament for debate and approval or dismissal.

They wondered what the repealing of NHIF, a State Parastatal that was established in 1966 as a department under the Ministry of Health, means to healthcare in the country and their contribution as beneficiaries of medical cover.

How Kenyans reacted to the new development

For instance, Linda Oguttu said she did not understand what repealing NHIF meant and sought explanations, highlighting many Kenyans' confusion.

"Cabinet Dispatch. Someone, please explain the health Funds...imenipita kidogo. Hapo kwa NHIF (I have not understood the NHIF part)," said the senior journalist.

Other Kenyans said that the possible introduction of the three funds would mean more deductions for each service, doubting the Kenya Kwanza's assurance that the move will ensure the most vulnerable in the community will also enjoy healthcare coverage.