Shortly after a comparable plan was rejected by Parliament, President William Ruto has supported the appeal for the wealthy to make larger monthly contributions to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Early this year, NHIF proposed calculating the contributions of employees making more over Sh100,000 at 1.7 percent of their salaries. However, the departing Parliament rejected this, forcing the insurer to start over.
NHIF currently requires employees making more than Sh100,000 to make a fixed monthly contribution of Sh1,700. According to NHIF, the program will generate an additional Sh20 billion annually by requiring mandatory membership for all Kenyans over the age of 18; and higher monthly contributions from top earners.
The mandatory NHIF membership is an improvement, which merely required workers in the formal sector to enroll. The NHIF offered informal workers the option to join or leave, with a monthly contribution cap of Sh500.