Free health care for poor in pipeline

• Wealthy Kenyans will contribute more money to the National Health Insurance Fund to a separate kitty set aside for the needy.
• Persons living on less than a dollar a day will be issued with medical cards detailing their economic status.

Poor Kenyans could soon access free quality health care if a new social insurance plan is adopted.

The Healthcare Financing draft seeks to streamline medical services in the country and will see wealthy Kenyans contribute more money to the National Health Insurance Fund to a separate kitty set aside for the needy.

According to the plan, persons living on less than a dollar a day will be required to register at the provincial administration offices and will be issued with medical cards detailing their economic status.

“The cards to be presented in hospitals and medical fees will be waived for both in-patient and outpatient services,” said Medical Services Permanent Secretary Prof Ole Kiyiapi when opening a stakeholder’s workshop at Windsor Hotel on Thursday.

The cards will adopt a biometric system that will use fingerprints to prevent forgery and manipulation of the social protection system.

The strategy will initially identify poor persons and contributions will be made on their behalf by fellow citizens and channelled to an Access and Equity fund.

“We must be prepared to not only make sacrifices for one another but for the country as well,” Prof Kiyiapi said.

Referral systems in the hospitals will also be strengthened and human resource personnel from the non-medical field as well employed to efficiently manage the hospitals countrywide with the Ministry of Health playing an oversight role.

The plan expected to be complete by June next year will seek to improve health standards in the country, reducing mortality arising from poor access to medication.

Also present was Public Health and Sanitation PS Mark Bor and Public Health director Dr Shanaaz Shariff.

The move, Prof Kiyiapi said, is aimed at reducing the number of patients that opt for self medication due to lack of money that stood at 40 per cent of the population according to the Well Being study.

Western province had the highest number of residents that treat themselves at 51 per cent followed by Eastern and Nyanza at 48 and 44 per cent respectively.

Presently, about 40 per cent of the Kenyan population obtains health care through out-of-pocket payments due to unavailability of enough government financing in most hospitals at the grassroot levels.

Despite an increase in budget allocation in the health sector from Sh15.3 billion in 2003/2004 to Sh34.4 billion in 2007/2008, domestic funding remained a great challenge as most projects were financed by donors.

The plan also includes a proposal to increase NHIF coverage from the current two million members to eight million in the next two years.

In a bid to improve access to health for the poor, the government banned user charges in public hospitals to the current Sh20 paid for the registration cards but the move failed as costs in the health facilities increased.

“The waiver system for patients unable to pay hospital fees undermines our facilities due to the accumulating pending bills,” Prof Kiyiapi said adding the new policy would formulate a compensation to cover the hospital expenses.

Colombia was highlighted as a country that has a national healthcare policy that guarantees quality medical services to all citizens.

The draft will be presented to the National Economic Council on Monday pending discussions at the cabinet and parliamentary levels before it is put in practice.