Nairobi — The State Department of Medical Services has requested Parliament to allocate it Sh6 billion for low-income households' health insurance.
Appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health, Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai said that the department pays insurance premiums for 1 million households, covering 4 million individuals who are unable to afford healthcare.
However, with the proposed budget cuts in the supplementary budget, Kimtai said that at least 4 million Kenyans will be left without coverage.
"The Primary Health Care Fund is fully government-supported but limits access to services to dispensaries and health centers, with more advanced medical treatments available only upon referral from these facilities," said Kimtai.
"Access to services at this level requires full payment. Failure to fund the indigents' insurance goes against the spirit of universal healthcare coverage, where equity is a main component," he added, noting that this would limit access to essential hospital services.
For the financial year 2023/2024, Sh6 billion was allocated to indigent healthcare. However, the budget allocation for the financial year 2024/2025 has been reduced to zero, impacting the program.
"This contradicts the government's agenda to make healthcare accessible to all, regardless of social or economic background," he stated.
"Therefore, the State Department is requesting the reinstatement of Kshs 6 billion for this critical national project," he urged.
Endebess MP Robert Pukose, chair of the National Assembly Committee on Health, asked the State Department to accept the budget cuts, explaining that it was as a result of the Finance Bill 2024 withdrawal, which was expected to raise Sh344 billion but was dropped.
"Due to this, we must rationalize the budget, resulting in a shortfall of approximately Ksh 121 billion. This means the government will have to borrow over Ksh 220 billion to cover the deficit," Pukose said.
"Consequently, we face challenges from the withdrawn finance bill, requiring us to rationalize the budget by removing critical budget lines," he added.
Pukose urged public and state officials, especially heads of parastatals, to be deliberate in their services to the public and the government.
"Many officials may be idle, just watching television to see what is happening within this region. The budget cuts affect everyone, not just the president and members of parliament. It impacts your ability to deliver services to the people of Kenya," he emphasized.
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PS Kimtai acknowledged that the accounting officers of various ministries, state departments, and agencies are aware of the current situation in the country, emphasizing the need to minimize wasteful use of government resources.
"We expect that the referral facilities will benefit from proper organization and operation of the Social Health Insurance Fund, as they are the biggest losers if the insurance claims are not reorganized," he said.
He argued that the programs and legal frameworks the ministry has instituted to reorganize the health insurance system in the country will alleviate or remove referral hospitals' dependence on the National Treasury.
"We are now working on the costing, and if the reimbursement is done on time, because you have costed, this time we're trying to cost claims which include the cost of labor, because previously we've only been costing the drugs, medicine, or treatment, but not the labor component," he stated.
