NHIF should assure Kenyans of accountability

After a protracted legal battle, the revised National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) rates came into effect on April 1. When the new rates were announced by the government last year, the Trade Union Congress of Kenya (TUC-K) went to court to block implementation of the new rates, arguing that health care was inaccessible to most people, besides the fact that there was no public participation prior to the announcement of the new rates.

While the NHIF seeks to widen its base by taxing high earners more, the net effect is that it will lose some of its membership even as it destabilises the private insurance sector.