Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1092591,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1092591/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 348,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Navakholo, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2543,
        "legal_name": "Emmanuel Wangwe",
        "slug": "emmanuel-wangwe"
    },
    "content": "that you pay 25 per cent as a penalty of the sum amount which you were supposed to pay before you defaulted. Additionally, in the event that an employer fails to remit the required standard or matching contribution which makes an employee incur some costs while seeking treatment, the Bill makes provision for the employer to compensate the employee for the costs incurred while seeking treatment. What has been happening with employers is that most of them deduct the NHIF, but fail to remit. So, when an employee goes to hospital and presents their NHIF card, that is the time they realise that they are not compliant yet their money was deducted. What then happens is that the employee gets money from his or her pocket to pay the bills. The amendment being proposed in the Bill is that if that employee has suffered because of the negligence of the employer, the employee should have recourse to recover the money by being compensated by the employer to that extent. The Bill enhances the penalty for individuals who obtain benefits through false or fraudulent claims. They are to be subjected to a fine of Kshs10 million or imprisonment for five years. There is also deregistration of healthcare institutions found participating in fraudulent activities. We have seen scenarios where there is false presentation of claims by some service providers to the NHIF. If you are a service provider who has been panelled as being eligible to provide healthcare services and you fraudulently present false documents for payment, the Bill proposes that you will have to pay a fine of Kshs10 million or face imprisonment for five years. Also, without an option, you will be deregistered off the list of healthcare service providers. This will help to deter the aggressiveness of fraudulent healthcare providers. In a study conducted by Oxfam, it was observed that universal health coverage is not a one size fits all journey. Governments need to develop approaches that fit the social, economic and political contexts of their individual countries. In addition, the WHO has been explicit that countries should prioritise four key actions to finance universal health coverage. One of them is to reduce direct payments at the healthcare facilities. You can only prepare for ill-health because you do not know when you will fall sick. You cannot just keep money and hope that it will be available when illness comes. That is why we discourage direct payment because you may not have money at that time. You prepare for it so that you reduce the direct payments since you have already made arrangements by being part of a scheme which is now safeguarding you in terms of your health. The second one is to maximise mandatory prepayment. This is through organisations or by the Government. The Government should mobilise a particular organisations like the NHIF which sets up a maximum mandatory prepayment procedure to cover the scheme. This is done through the establishment of large risk pools like the NHIF, which will pool all the resources that we have now made mandatory through the Bill. When you look at how the base will widen, it will be a big pool to collect money and also manage medical risk. The final one is to use general Government revenue to cover those who cannot afford to contribute. In the Bill, there is a clause on indigence which will address the issue of those who are not able to meet the contributions. It entails how the Government will approach such, put them together and manage their contributions. Those four actions are the sole objective of the various health-related laws, including this Bill. The NHIF Bill intends to reduce direct payments at healthcare facilities, make insurance premium payments mandatory, and most importantly, require the Government to use its own revenue to make contributions for the indigent. 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."
}