CS Nakhumicha: NHIF to be rebranded to National Social Health Insurance Fund

The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will soon be replaced by the National Social Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF) in a bid to enable every Kenyan to access medical services throughout the country under Universal Health Care.

Health Cabinet Secretary Wafula Nakhumicha says the national government is currently looking for funds and will engage partners in a robust funds drive to raise billions of shillings which will be used to register Kenyans into the new insurance fund so that Kenyans can access medical health whenever they need it.

 CS Nakhumicha was speaking on Thursday during the first-ever National Cancer Summit where health practitioners disclosed that Cancer continues to be a huge burden to millions of Kenyans.

“Currently, NHIF is already running some schemes that take care of different cohorts of people. We have the one for the elderly, orphaned children, Linda Mama and Edu Afya,” CS Nakhumicha said.

“What we are going to do with the NSHIF is we want to bring the funds together so that we no longer have them in silos. When we have the schemes together, we do fundraising that gives us almost Ksh.12.6 billion.”

According to the CS, the new mode of insurance will be similar to putting up national fundraising that ensures any capable individual or person contributes to the scheme for the betterment of the other.

She likened the scheme to raising funds in a WhatsApp group or a social media platform saying the government was consolidating different agencies to raise the required funds.

“We are now doing the Math to see how much more should the government add so that each and every Kenyan can be able to access health care. We have done a costing and we know with this fundraising, we want to look for funds from elsewhere such as Tobacco Funds, Sports Funds, the money that comes from betting…a fraction of it and put them together to form the basis of NSHIF,” she explained.  

“You and I can afford healthcare, when our people are sick, it is you and I in WhatsApp groups raising funds; what about if we do one major fundraising rather than having WhatsApp Groups?”