Insurers have warned that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Amendment Bill, 2021 in its current form will wreck the insurance industry and hurt the country’s private medical schemes.
The insurer’s lobby, the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) says the proposed changes would increase the cost of health care, labour expenses among employers and push medical insurers out of business.
One of the key concerns of insurers is a section stating that employers are required to match the amount they have remitted on behalf of the employees, with the Bill requiring contributions by all Kenyans aged over 18 – both in the formal and informal sectors.
It will see every adult Kenyan make an annual compulsory Sh6,000 contribution to the NHIF in the race to offer medical cover for all.
