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"id": 1496672,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496672/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
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"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
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"content": " The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health, Hon. (Dr) Pukose."
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"id": 1496673,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to respond to the issues raised by Hon. Lilian Gogo. First and foremost, I think it is good for us to understand what we are talking about. The Authority is called the Social Health Authority, abbreviated as SHA. The Authority is a creation of this House. It runs three funds, namely: the Social Health Insurance Fund, the Emergency Chronic and Critical Care Fund, and the Primary Health Care Fund. All the three funds now replace the previous fund, that is, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which had a lot of challenges. Previous Governments tried to see how best to introduce the Universal Health Care (UHC). We conducted pilot projects in Nyeri, Machakos, Kisumu and other areas to see how we could introduce the UHC. When President Ruto came into power, he brought Bills to operationalise the achievement of UHC as one of his agenda items in the Manifesto of UDA and Kenya Kwanza Coalition. In this regard, we passed the Digital Health Bill, the Social Health Authority Bill, the Primary Health Care Bill, and the Facility Improvement Fund. Hon. Members, on 1st October, the Government began rolling out the programme on providing Kenyans with Universal Health Care. It is five weeks now. As we speak today, this programme has had several successes, including 39,000 Kenyans who have attended renal care visits. We have 81,000 Kenyans who have had admissions, 12,000 cancer care visits and 49,000 consultations at the primary care unit. What is the impact of this? We have had renal and haematology care, where Ksh430 million was approved for life-saving dialysis care over the past five weeks. We have more than Ksh300 million approved for cancer care. The average turn-around time for pre-authorization has now improved. Initially, we had challenges but as we speak today the turn-around time is two hours. We have had challenges with private hospitals in accepting and running this programme. In the four major referral hospitals – the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital, Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, and Spinal Injury Hospital—as we speak today, no single patient has gone there and turned away."
},
{
"id": 1496674,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496674/?format=api",
"text_counter": 636,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
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"id": 1496675,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496675/?format=api",
"text_counter": 637,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The NHIF had a lot of challenges. In it, we had close to 12 million beneficiaries. Out of that 12 million, when the system was connected to the National Registration Bureau, 9 million Kenyans could be transferred from the NHIF system to the SHA system. That is how people received messages telling them that they had transferred to the SHA and could access the SHIF, to which they contribute 2.75 per cent of their gross salary. The Primary Health Care Fund is fully funded by the Government to the tune of Ksh4 billion. The Emergency, Chronic and Critical Care Fund is funded to about Ksh2 billion. We might see this as a very small amount in relation to many Kenyans, but not everybody is sick. The biggest challenge that we face today is that many people want to register when they become sick. When SHA, together with the Cabinet Secretary for Health, appeared before our Committee, one of the commitments we asked them to make is to release or write a letter to every constituency office so that people can register in advance and not when seeking treatment. That will ensure that when they go to hospital, they are already registered members. Hon. Temporary Speaker, please, add me just one more minute. This is important, Hon. Members, because we have indigents who cannot afford to pay. These are the people who expect the Government to pay for them. Therefore, by registering in constituency offices, the Women Representatives offices, or even the Senators' offices, we can use the means-testing to identify indigents."
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{
"id": 1496676,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496676/?format=api",
"text_counter": 638,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
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"content": " Add him one minute because of the information he is giving as the Committee Chairman."
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{
"id": 1496677,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496677/?format=api",
"text_counter": 639,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Endebess, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Robert Pukose",
"speaker": null,
"content": " The SHA, together with the Digital Health Agency, will send their staff to liaise with our constituency office managers and teams so that our constituents can be registered. Through means-testing we can pick indigents and they can access services offered by the Government. In our Budget, we have an allocation for indigents. These is the largest population that comes to us seeking assistance. As soon as that letter is written, we have asked them to forward it to the Clerk so that all the Members can be informed to inform their constituents. With those few remarks, thank you for allowing me to contribute, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
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"id": 1496678,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496678/?format=api",
"text_counter": 640,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
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"content": " Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal."
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{
"id": 1496679,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496679/?format=api",
"text_counter": 641,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. We have a problem and it is basically a problem of transition. When we passed the health Bills, remember our greatest argument was on transition. Why SHA and SHIF have got into problems is because we have not handled the transition well. SHA has three funds. The SHIF itself is a little bit okay because of the people who are employed and, therefore, easy to catch. What about self-employed people? What about the indigents? What are we able to do to them now? That is where the problem is. Even when they register, the premium they have to pay has to be determined. As it is now, that is not working well. One can be registered, but how much premium the person has to pay does not come quickly. Even when one is given the premium, the existing ERP that is supposed to help one with how to pay is also a problem. It has been a problem even for employed people, but I understand that is now improving. So, those are the problems. We are saying that we are going to use a means-testing instrument for the self- employed to test themselves. When people give data of their employment, and it is determined how much they are supposed to pay, how can that be verified? And are they able to pay now? What is the system of payment? That actually is still another problem. The indigents are people who cannot pay. Let me say this: we cannot do proxy means- testing online. All over the world, nobody has ever done proxy means-testing online because the proxies that are used themselves cannot tell the proper means. At one point you have to get to the ground and see the family. We cannot say this is a stone house and it tells you the income of the family. We have to go and see what form of stone was used. We cannot say this is a"
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"id": 1496680,
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"text_counter": 642,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
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{
"id": 1496681,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1496681/?format=api",
"text_counter": 643,
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"speaker": null,
"content": "mabati"
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