• Medical Services Principal Secretary (PS) Harry Kimtai emphasised that every Kenyan would receive equal SHIF benefits regardless of contribution
• Kimtai said Kenyans who contribute more and feel that the benefits are low should pay for private insurance
• The government official denied claims that the new scheme was rushed, arguing that the system had been developed for some time

TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers profound insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Kenyans are up in arms about the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which was implemented on Tuesday, October 1.

Questions remain about the effectiveness of the social health medical insurance programme, as benefits for Kenyans are envisaged to be far less than those of private medical insurance plans.

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However, Medical Services Principal Secretary (PS) Harry Kimtai emphasised that every Kenyan would receive equal benefits, and those seeking additional coverage should consider private insurance.

“We came to the conclusion of 2.75% of their gross income. There’s no cap. That’s why it’s called SHIF, where everyone contributes to it, and the benefits packages are also equal. You should not say if you’re paying more, you’re getting more benefits, it is standard. If you like extra benefits, you can pay for private cover,” Kimtai told KTN News.

Was the SHA rollout rushed?

Kimtai denied claims that the new scheme was rushed, arguing that the system was developed for quite a while.

He reiterated that the state carried out numerous tests on the new system.

“We had also done what we call lab tests, and we agreed because it was announced by the CS that October 1 would be the launch and the rollout of SHA,” Kimtai explained, as quoted by Citizen Digital.

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SHIF benefits vs private insurers

Workers earning KSh 100,000 per month in take-home pay will have 2.75% deducted from their income.

This means they will have to pay KSh 2,750 monthly to the medical programme or KSh 33,000 yearly.

The new model reimburses individuals seeking maternity care KSh 10,000 for a typical delivery and KSh 30,000 for a cesarean section.

On the other hand, other insurers with comparable salary contribution scales offer an extra KSh 20,000 for a cesarean section and an additional KSh 20,000 for normal delivery.

The new scheme offers KSh 2,240 per day for inpatient services, up to 180 days per household annually.

However, other insurers usually provide coverage of up to KSh 500,000 per year, significantly more than the current model offers.

Source: TUKO.co.ke