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{
    "id": 1344118,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1344118/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 301,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. First, I want to thank the Committee for doing a great job and the Kenya Kwanza Government for implementing its Manifesto under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Healthcare is one of the greatest headaches in this country. Families become bankrupt because they are forced to sell all their assets to take care of the sick amongst them. For a long time, we have had an animal called NHIF. Kenyans have put in a lot of money in NHIF with the hope that it will help them sort out their medical bills. That they will not have to sell their assets or have their kin detained in hospitals. However, the NHIF has let this country down! It is about time we reformed the NHIF to ensure that we have Universal Health Coverage that will take care of everyone. Hon. Deputy Speaker, you, I and many other big organisations have medical schemes that take care of us. However, many Kenyans do not enjoy the same in terms of their medical needs. Those Kenyans look up to the Government for healthcare services. The Kenya Kwanza Government says that something can be done about the healthcare insurance system by reforming NHIF and making it more efficient. This is by taking care of chronic diseases like cancer. The Social Health Bill 2023 is the panacea to medical bills. I take cognisant of some interesting things that are coming up. One, the Digital Health Bill is linked to this Social Health Insurance Bill. Two, apart from treatments, patients can transfer data to other facilities to get better treatment without them travelling. We will have the opportunity to use the much-talked-about telemedicine. This has not happened before because we do not have the requisite law. We are now putting this in place to ensure that telemedicine and sharing of information become a reality. Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is also important to note that health insurance coverage in this country is very low, which puts its effectiveness and efficiency in doubt. With this new scheme that the Government will roll when we pass this Bill, we will ensure that we have more and more people that can join. If you have an organisation that is efficient and effective, Kenyans will have the confidence to pay when asked for money for a service or tax. The problem that we have is accountability on the tax collected. I believe in a tax system that is just and accountable. If you receive that money, you are supposed to be accountable to citizens by ensuring that you provide them with services. As we reform the NHIF, it is also important to speak to the county governments which are the providers of this service. What are they doing to ensure that we have well-stocked hospitals? What are they doing to make sure that there are doctors who ensure that we have an accountable system in place and that NHIF pays for what a patient requires? The principle objective of this Bill is to put in place a legislative framework to regulate the provision of social health insurance, promote an implementation of universal health 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."
}