MOMBASA, Kenya Oct 31 – President Uhuru Kenyatta says anyone who will try to defraud National Health Insurance Fund will be dealt with accordingly.
Speaking during the launch of the Biometric Registration of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Mombasa County on Saturday, the Head of State said their is no room for failure in the implementation of the programme
“Those charged with the responsibility of looking after this funds, I want to promise you, that if you do not handle these funds with the care and caution that it requires, some of us will go to very extreme lengths to ensure that you shall regret it for the rest of your lives,” President warned.
President Kenyatta said the UHC pilot phase was a success story through which community volunteers attended to over two million clients, many of who were served in their homes.
He noted that during the pilot period there was a recruitment of an additional 752 health workers to narrow existing gaps.
“The Kenya we want is one where no Kenyan should leave the country to receive medical care that they require, a Kenya that is world renowned medical tourism destination, a Kenya whose health care bills no longer destroy in a single swoop wealth that has taken decades to create,” the Head of State.
President Kenyatta challenged MPs to fast-track the passage of legislation which will see the establishment of the UHC Fund to guarantee financing, as well as legislation aimed at reforming the public health insurer and adding a county representative on the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Board.
“Please don’t delay us, with needless debate, we want to deliver.”
“This is not the time to show prowess in debate, this is the time to deliver so that our people can get this benefit that we all know has turned many. many households in our country into total destitution because of having to cover their medical bills. We have an opportunity now to fix that once and for all,” the President stated.
As part of the Big Four Agenda, the Jubilee government has made a commitment to achieve UHC by the year 2022.
The launch and subsequent pilot programme in 4 counties: Kisumu, Machakos , Isiolo and Nyeri however stalled owing to the lack of sustainable funding, forcing primary beneficiaries to renew their NHIF cover and pay the premiums for themselves in the last two months.
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