Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1401042,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1401042/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 203,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nakhumicha",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Health",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 520,
        "legal_name": "Reginalda Nakhumicha Wanyonyi",
        "slug": "reginalda-nakhumicha-wanyonyi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. On the question that was asked by Sen. Onyonka, about the repealing of the NHIF Act, it is now clear that we are in the transition phase. Yes, as a Ministry, we acknowledge that there are claims dating back to three or five years, and even others that are longer than five years. What we have done as a Ministry, and that is one of the reasons the new Act was put in place, we have claims that looked ridiculous. We have claims that on face value would not be validated. From the research that we did, we have claims that point to the first issue that I responded to, fraud in medical insurance. So, what we have done is that the transitional Committee, one of the Terms of Reference (TORs) that they have, is to do a proper reconciliation of the claims. They have a subcommittee where we have received experts from the National Treasury. We have received a representative from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) to verify those claims, so that they can be paid. I assure the House that once the transitional committee has confirmed that a claim is legitimate for payment, it shall be taken over by the Social Health Authority (SHA). I also confirm that there is a special committee; the National Audit Committee, that was put in place by His Excellency the President. It is supposed to be looking into all pending bills. So, some huge bills then will be moved to the Special Audit Committee, chaired by the former Auditor General, Mr. Ouko, to look into the long outstanding pending bills. Some of those will be verified there. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to assure the House that these claims, so long as are verified and reconciled, they will be taken over by SHA. Having said that, I also confirm that payment of claims is a continuous exercise. So, NHIF has been continuing to pay those claims that have been reconciled and verified. In the last year, a total of Kshs36 billion was paid out to claims. The second question about reimbursement of claims to public facilities that has been asked by Sen. Mandago of Uasin Gishu, who is also the Chairperson of the Health Committee in the Senate, is that, indeed, it is true that many outstanding claims are yet to be paid to public facilities. These outstanding claims are not unique just to public facilities. We even have faith-based facilities that have outstanding claims. We have private facilities that have outstanding claims. As a Ministry, this is a matter that we have brought to the Cabinet's attention because we see it standing in our way as a risk in the transition. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}