There is need for the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to cover the acquisition of artificial limbs and other orthopedic technology services.
A panel of experts from Health Financing Reforms was told that many patients in need of artificial limbs could not afford them as a result of high costs as the national insurer did not cater for such.
Prisca Kiragu, an Orthopedic Technologist at Nyandarua’s JM Kariuki Hospital noted the need for NHIF to also cover for the disabled even as it positions itself to be the driver of the Universal Health Care (UHC).
The panel led by its chair Mr. James Wambugu also sought the residents’ views on repositioning NHIF as a strategic partner towards the attainment of UHC.
“Those earning more should pay more towards the cover. Should we be going to India to treat flu when our brothers here cannot even afford Pneumonia treatment here?” Wambugu questioned.
“Consultation should be catered for so that citizens are diagnosed free of charge. This way we will be able to detect illnesses early and therefore treatment becomes cheaper,” noted Nyandarua County Assembly Speaker Ndegwa Wahome.
The residents who did not oppose to NHIF taking the mantle to drive UHC however feared that corruption and mismanagement of the fund would deny them the services that they badly needed.
“The public is willing to pay towards this fund but the premiums should be lowered so that more can enroll. We demand transparency among NHIF leadership to avert mismanagement of the fund and corruption. If the fund is to be financed by levying workers then it has to be a percentage cutting across all cadres and not burden the low earners by setting a ceiling,” noted Faith Nyambura a resident of OlKalau.
The UHC, they recommended, should allow for Kenyans to be treated in any public institution across the country regardless of their home town, while catering for senior citizens including retirees.
“If I contributed to NHIF when I was young and energetic, why should I pay for medication now that am aged and no longer contributing,” lamented a 73 year old man who also pays NHIF premiums for his mother, 92.
By Anne Sabuni
