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{
    "id": 1402998,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1402998/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 266,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ms. Susan Nakhumicha",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Health",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker and Hon. Members. The first question is for me to explain the factors used to determine how much a non-salaried Kenyan citizen ought to pay to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and how regularly they should pay per year. I want to begin by appreciating Hon. Duncan Mathenge, who is a Member of the Departmental Committee on Health. I have held discussions with him and he is an active participant in the development of regulations. He also hosted the Ministry of Health during public participation of the regulations in Nyeri. Section 27 (2)(b) of the Social Health Insurance (SHI) Act, 2023 provides that in case of a household whose income is not derived from salaried employment, an annual contribution of a proportion of household income is determined by the Means Testing Instrument. In the SHIF General Regulations 2024, this was further explained by Regulation 18 (I-2) which states that a household whose income is not derived from salaried employment shall pay an annual contribution to the SHIF at a rate of 2.75% of household income as determined by the Means Testing Instrument as per Regulation 21. The factors to be used by the means testing tool are individual and household characteristics. Individual characteristics include the number of family members, marital status and gender of the household head, whereas household characteristics include housing conditions and access to services like electricity and source of water. The means testing tool will then run the data and provide the estimated income of the household using consumption data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The non-salaried persons will be required to pay annual contributions to curb the issue of adverse selection where only the sick pay for insurance. The second question is this: State the percentage of the salary that employed Kenyans should be deducted from the pay slip towards the SHIF and further clarify if there is an upper limit on the contributions. Hon. Speaker and Hon. Members, Section 27 (2) (a) of the SHIF Act, 2023 provides that: “(a) in the case of a household whose income is derived from salaried employment, a monthly statutory deduction from the wages or salary by the employer at a rate prescribed by the Act”. In tandem with the Act, in the SHIF General Regulations 2024, Regulation 17 (I) states that for a household whose income is derived from salaried employment, a monthly statutory deduction to the SHIF at a rate of 2.75% of the gross salary or wage of the household shall be contributed by the 9th day of each month. There is no upper limit on the contributions. Hon. Speaker and Hon. Members, I submit."
}