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{
    "id": 1286091,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286091/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 296,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13582,
        "legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
        "slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
    },
    "content": "In Nyeri, we have had a good successful story about it. We have an efficient system that ensures that money is reinvested back to the health centres. However, as we pass the Bill, we need to also come up with mechanisms that will ensure a few greedy people do not take advantage of that. Mr. Speaker, Sir, health being one of the devolved functions and the Senate having the role of oversight, we must come up with mechanisms that will ensure we have a way of getting to know how much has been collected, how it has been utilized and most importantly, come up with mechanisms that ensure the temptation to increase the charges does not fall through. Health as a devolved function has faced many challenges, both at the county and national level. We also know there is commitment to introduce universal health which needs a lot of resources and most of the money the Ministry of Health is supposed to allocate to county governments is held in Nairobi. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I therefore request my colleagues that as we support and pass this Bill, we should also come up with mechanisms that can be put in place to ensure that all devolved functions are followed by budgetary allocations as opposed to the current situation where money is left in the national Government. It is equally important to ensure that we have uniformity in the charges levied in the different levels of hospitals across the country so that one county does not overcharge its people. If that happens as has been the case before, people are left with no option but to go to private hospitals where they pay a lot of money. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as we look at this Bill, we should also ensure that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) card covers service delivery across the counties and hospitals so that when a visiting resident from another county falls ill, they are covered in the host county. We have supervision and oversight roles and it is important that we agree that the onus is on us to put in place mechanisms to ensure that there is some uniformity; and that there is prudence after the money has been collected. Therefore, the requirement that each county makes known to the general public what each and every facility has collected must also be made mandatory so that it is not left in the hands of the governors to decide whether to make it known or not. We must also put mechanisms in place to ensure that for the money that is being reinvested, proper procurement mechanisms are followed because failure to do so will bring system abuse. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support."
}