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Big test for Ruto's health plan in parliament
The transition from NHIF to the new health insurance fund has placed a financial strain on healthcare facilities.
What you need to know:
- On Thursday, Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Mulongo will face senators in Naivasha to brief them on the implementation of the health intervention in a session that is expected to be heated due to the recent system failure that has left many Kenyans stranded in hospitals.
- In the National Assembly, the Committee on Health, chaired by Endebes MP Robert Pukose, is expected to present a comprehensive report on the challenges facing the new health system and recommend a way forward.
President William Ruto's health plan is facing turbulence with lawmakers now demanding a comprehensive review and way forward when the House resumes sittings next week.
From the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), the Sh104 billion new health information system to the deployment of community health promoters, there is no respite for President Ruto's health project in the National Assembly.
On Thursday, Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Mulongo will face senators in Naivasha to brief them on the implementation of the health intervention in a session that is expected to be heated due to the recent system failure that has left many Kenyans stranded in hospitals.
In the National Assembly, the Committee on Health, chaired by Endebes MP Robert Pukose, is expected to present a comprehensive report on the challenges facing the new health system and recommend a way forward.
This comes after the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetang'ula, directed the committee to call on all stakeholders in the health sector to find a way forward on the challenges that have clogged the system and deprived many people of critical services.
"You will present a comprehensive report to Parliament on 11 February 2025, when Parliament resumes. We need a clear plan to address these challenges." Mr Wetang'ula said.
Last week, during their mid-term retreat in Naivasha, the lawmakers threatened to revert to the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) due to the failure of the new health system being implemented by the event.
Also in the MPs' arsenal of threats, should the first options fail, is a reduction of the 2.75 per cent deduction from workers' gross salaries to as little as one per cent, citing the massive failure of the new system.
The passage of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 saw the dissolution of NHIF and the creation of the Social Health Authority in its place to administer the three funds - the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Healthcare Fund, and the Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund.
The Health Committee is also not done with the Sh104 billion that was used to buy new health information during the migration from NHIF to SHIF.
At the heart of the lawmakers' questions is why such a staggering amount was spent on the new system when the old system only needed Sh700 million to be upgraded.
During the retreat, the lawmakers pointed out that the new system was rushed and there was no adequate public participation.
"One thing we need to do is to audit this new system. We have to ask how it was purchased.
Why does it keep failing? And why did we spend Sh104 billion on a new system and our people are still suffering? asked Kitui Rural MP David Mwalika.
The deployment of Community Health Promoters (CHPs) is also facing a backlash in Parliament, with MPs questioning how Sh24 billion was used to procure kits for health workers.
On December 4, just a day before lawmakers began their long recess, the committee threatened not to approve any budget for the ministry until the two Principal Secretaries in the ministry - Mary Muthoni (Public Health and Professional Standards) and Harry Kimtai (Medical Services) - appeared before it.
The two are expected to appear before the committee when it resumes to provide details on the procurement of the kits and whether Kenyans got value for money from the deal.
"We will not approve any budget for the ministry until all questions surrounding the procurement process of the Community Promoters kits are answered," said Dr Pukose.
The many questions surrounding the government's health plan now threaten the success of one of the Kenya Kwanza administration's key election pledges to transform the health system.