Deductions for SHIF Pushed to July



Employees can now breathe a sigh of relief after Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha on Monday announced that deductions towards the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will commence in July. The deductions towards the new fund were earlier stipulated for first week of March. 

Speaking during a national validation exercise at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Ms. Nakhumicha said registration of new members on the new fund, will now take place between March and June 30. The new fund replaces the now defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) whose legacy has been tainted by corruption. 

"Our aim as a ministry is to commence registration from the first week of March and this will go on up to June and thereafter, we intend to begin contributions at a rate of 2.75% with a minimum payment of Sh300. Our hope is that access to these benefits will start in the month of July," she said. 

Members previously registered on NHIF will now be required to register afresh for the new social health scheme. 

The CS went on to state that many Kenyans have welcomed the new regulations.

"We have received a lot of feedback from different stakeholders, and they have rated the new regulations at 75 to 80 percent, sufficient to implement the Social Health Authority Act, under which Kenyans will pay 2.75 percent of their household income to SHIF," she said.  

Among the concerns raised are the discussions surrounding the mean testing tool, which will be utilized to ascertain the contribution amounts for non-salaried contributors to the fund.

Chair of the Health Committee at the Council of Governors, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki said devolved units should be3 included in the transition committee that will oversee the transition from NHIF to SHIF. 

He additionally expressed his dissatisfaction with the delay in addressing claims made to public hospitals, highlighting that a majority of claim beneficiaries might be private hospitals, similar to the situation with NHIF.




He called upon the national government to organize the implementation of the Primary Healthcare Fund in a manner that benefits both public and private sectors. In response to the concerns raised by county governments and representatives of other organizations, Ms. Nakhumicha assured that these concerns would be taken into account before presenting the regulations to Parliament for approval.

"We are working very hard to ensure that Kenyans don't even notice the changeover. I think we were running very fast, and my team was working with a target of March 1," she said. 

Employees with a salary of Sh100,000 will now contribute Sh2,750, up from the current Sh1,700, indicating a 62 percent increase. Similarly, individuals earning a gross pay of half a million shillings will witness their deductions surge by eightfold to Sh13,750.

About 54% of Kenyans will contribute sh.300 to the fund, the minimum payment, with higher income earners paying more, according to the CS.





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