The government is planning to impose extra taxes measures on Kenyans in order to acquire funds towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage.
The Social Health Insurance Bill (SHIF), 2023, which establishes the Social Health Insurance Fund, which will replace the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The new fund will be used for preventive, promotional, and primary care services at the community, dispensary, and health centre levels, as well as to build a chronic illness and emergency fund that will provide for chronic illnesses.
The government intends to deduct 2.75 percent of the gross wage of Kenya’s roughly 3 million employed citizens to fund the SHIF, with a minimum contribution of Ksh 2,000.
Every family, a non-Kenyan resident residing in Kenya for a duration of more than one year, the national government, the county government, and any other employer are required to contribute under the Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023.
For a household whose income is not obtained from employment, a yearly contribution will be made equal to 2.75 percent of the household’s income, as determined by a socioeconomic assessment carried out by community health workers across the country.
The government would cover those classed as needy with a Ksh.26 billion kitty.
