Kitui County, NHIF sign
Universal Health Care pact
The MOU will see over 100, 00O homesteads benefit under the comprehensive super cover.
By Terry Nzau
Kitui County government Governor Kaluki Ngilu says her government will use a co-pay program that will see the county pay 50% of the annual subscription of Ksh 6000 to NHIF while the rest will be paid by the covered household. " Sixty Percent of Kitui residents are classified as poor and lack means. With this we have a pocket expenditure to ensure affordable health for all", said Ngilu.
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| Governor Ngilu during the signing of the MOU with NHIF CEO Mr Peter Kamunyo |
Kitui County has 262,000 households with currently about 79, 320 household being insurured with different insurances which is less than thirty percent.
According to Ngilu over sixty percent of Kitui residents are classified as poor and therefore lack the means to meet daily needs such as health.
" Over eighty percent of our people are depended on public health facilities this places a huge demand for our county government to allocate resources to meet the needs", she said.
"Thirty three percent of annual Kitui budget goes in health but with this MOU we have therefore decided to set aside ten percent of this allocation every year to support our vulnerable households to enroll to UHC through NHIF", she added.
Ngilu says that this MOU will ensure as the county government they provide health insurance cover for over 85,000 households for the first time ever in Kitui and largely Kenya.
" I believe this will be the first time in our country when such a large number of ordinary wananchi in one county get health insurance. This will be a landmark achievement and one for which we are extremely grateful to President Uhuru Kenyatta who has enabled UHC dream come to life in this country", she emphasized.
NHIF CEO Peter Kamunyo says they are geared at socially protecting all citizens through Universal health coverage. " It gives me pleasure today to be signing an MOU with the county Government of Kitui supporting the healthcare in the county. And why so? because the spirit of UHC is leave no one behind and the spirit of Universal Health Coverage is to ensure all those who can pay and those who can't are identified and supported" said Kamunyo.
Kamunyo says they are focused at relieving Kenyans the burden of high cost of health and be productive. " The cost of Healthcare has continued and will continue to increase. This makes us one sickness away from poverty. Indeed it is true because 1 million Kenyans are driven to poverty every year because of catastrophic health expenditure", he added.
Kamunyo says it is important as the country goes through the scaleup for UHC they use the output base model known as an insurance model of risk transfer. " Basically what we are saying is that instead of carrying your own risk of health, be covered and the vehicle is NHIF and that you'll be able to transfer risk", said Kamunyo.
" To ensure that once you have transfer the risk, you'll be able to get adequate services and I thank Governor Ngilu for being a trailblazer on this era of ensuring most vulnerable get the care they need", he emphasized.
