A new bill called the Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023 is being proposed, and if it becomes a law, employees of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) may have to reapply for their jobs.
The NHIF, which has been around for over 60 years, is going through some changes to make it work better.
The bill says that a new organization called the Social Health Authority will be created, and it will be in charge of three funds: one for basic healthcare, another for regular healthcare, and a third for emergencies, chronic illnesses, and serious health problems.
The people who work for NHIF will have to apply for jobs in this new organization through a competitive hiring process.
The NHIF Board will have to close down NHIF within a year after this new organization starts, and all the money and property of NHIF will be given to the Social Health Authority.
The bill also says, “The Board of the Social Health Authority established under section 4 of the Act shall competitively recruit and appoint its staff under section 17 of the Act subject to the approved staff establishment and on such terms and conditions of service as may be determined by the Board.”
This means that NHIF staff can apply for jobs in the new organization if they are qualified, and they might get hired.
“A staff of the Fund not appointed by the Authority may exercise his or her option to either, retire from public service, or be redeployed within the public service, “reads the miscellaneous part of the bill.
“The Board may appoint such staff as may be necessary for the proper discharge of the functions of the Authority under this Act, upon such terms and conditions of service as the Board may determine.”
The goal of this new bill, the Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023, is to replace NHIF and make sure that everyone in Kenya can get healthcare when they need it.
Currently, NHIF has about 1,800 employees, but the bill doesn’t say how many people the new organization will hire.
This change might make NHIF employees worried because the organization has been around for a long time.
Many Kenyans depend on NHIF for their healthcare, but there have been problems with NHIF, like allegations of fraud by employees and delays in paying hospitals.
People sometimes have to pay for their medical bills themselves because of these issues.
