Kenyans will start making payments of contributions and access to healthcare under the scheme Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) in July 2024 and not March as earlier announced.
According to the Social Health Authority (SHA) acting corporation secretary, Terry Rotich, every Kenyan must apply to the authority for registration as a SHIF member by June 30.
“All persons in Kenya shall continue to pay their contributions to the repealed NHIF and receive services under the repealed NHIF and the data of the repealed NHIF shall be retained until all claims have been settled,” she said.
Further, she said that the current National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) members shall also be required to register afresh with the authority as members of SHIF.
SHIF is meant to phase out NHIF and will scrap the current maximum Kes 1,700 contribution, exposing employed Kenyans to higher deductions.
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Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha had previously declared that the health fund would start receiving payments in March.
A household whose income comes from a salaried job is required by the new insurance plan to make a monthly mandatory deductible contribution to SHIF at 2.75 percent of the gross wage.
The monthly payment must not be less than Kes 300.
Kenyans making Kes 50,000 gross salary will pay Kes 1,375 into the new health fund, up from Kes 1,200 currently, while those making Kes 100,000 or more will pay Kes 2,750, up from Kes 1,700.
High earners will be most impacted; individuals with gross incomes of Kes 500,000 will now pay Kes 13,750 instead of Kes 1,700, while those with gross incomes of Kes 1,000,000 will pay Kes 27,500.
Meanwhile, a household whose income is not derived from salaried employment shall pay an annual contribution to SHIF at 2.75 percent of the household income as determined by the means-testing instrument.
