NHIF prepares new hospital list

• National health insurer’s caretaker board says new list will be out by June 4 to enable members to pick their choices

The troubled national health insurer is working on a new list of hospitals for civil servants following the suspension of Clinix and Meridian clinics.

The National Hospital Insurance Fund caretaker board announced on Monday it would circulate the new list by June 4 to enable members to pick their preferred hospitals.

The new board last week froze the NHIF accounts of Clinix Healthcare Ltd and Meridian Medical Group following controversy on how they were selected to provide services.

The two health providers are the centre of investigations following reports that they lacked the capacity to handle members allocated to them.

Clinix was paid Sh202 million while Meridian was paid Sh116 million through the capitation model in the first quarter of the scheme.

In a statement on Monday, the board also clarified that the scheme’s implementation was still on despite the controversy.

“Other facilities countrywide have been delivering services as per the existing contracts and members should continue accessing the services as usual,” read the statement.

The board made the communication as Prime Minister Raila Odinga stated that the government was keen on getting to the bottom of the matter.

It also followed President Mwai Kibaki’s directive on Saturday that investigations of the alleged fraud be expedited.

On Monday, Mr Odinga stated that no one would be victimised in the ongoing investigations.

Speaking during the opening of the Medanta AfriCare Diagnostic Health Centre, the PM said the government was committed to ensuring that the scheme was sustained.

“The current controversy at NHIF is something that can be resolved. We want to know that truth so that the scheme is not nipped in the bud,” he said.

The caretaker board assured Kenyans that services continue as normal as they look into the controversial issues surrounding the implementation of the Civil Servants and Disciplined Services scheme.

The statement said that Civil Servants and Disciplined Services Scheme had four components: Enhanced in-patient medical cover, outpatient medical cover, group life and Last Expense.

“Of these four components, the only one facing challenges is the out-patient medical cover.”