Howard Miriti: ‘After losing my wife to Covid-19, I’m losing her NHIF benefits too...’
Mr Howard Miriti.
For the past four years, Howard Miriti, a widower from Laare in Meru County, has been pursuing comprehensive health cover benefits in vain.
His late wife, Dr Faith Kanjiru, a senior pharmacist at the Ministry of Health, died in November 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After being transferred from the Health ministry to the Meru County government, the late Dr Kanjiru was under comprehensive insurance cover for National Government officials.
The comprehensive insurance, which includes group life and final expense cover, was administered by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Even as Mr Miriti and his two daughters marked her fourth death anniversary, they are yet to find out when the insurance benefits will be paid.
The last expense benefits were not been paid and the family had to raise money to meet the funeral expenses.
Mr Miriti is one of hundreds of Kenyans who are still awaiting payment for claims made under the defunct NHIF.
“After my wife died, all the documentations were processed as required and submitted to the NHIF. However, the Ministry of Health and NHIF kept sending me back and forth until the new health insurance came in. We have sought assistance from Parliament and the National Treasury in vain,” Mr Miriti says.
He says the confusion has been worsened by the entry of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
“After the government transitioned to the Social Health Authority, the only commitment we have seen is the payment of hospitals owed by NHIF. People like me have no one to fight for them,” he lamented.
In May this year, following an enquiry by Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi, former Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha said the delay in the settlement of group life and last-expense claims was due to lack of funds.
The CS stated that following the launch of a new comprehensive cover for civil servants in 2021, all claims that occurred between October 2021 and April 2022 would be processed on a reimbursement basis.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the administrators of the scheme have requested the National Treasury to release funds required to settle claims that occurred between the stated dates,” Ms Nakhumicha stated.
According to a recent report by the National Assembly health watchdog committee, the defunct NHIF paid more than Sh10.2 billion for civil servants’ work injury benefits, group life and last expense claims between 2020 and 2023.
Following the exit of NHIF, Mr Miriti says he was advised to make a fresh claim to the National Treasury.
Last month, the government committed to pay Sh30 billion owed to hospitals by the defunct NHIF after the transition to SHIF.
“Since the NHIF had processed our claim, why is the National Treasury holding us hostage? It appears that the government has forgotten about individual claims as it focuses on arrears owed to private and public hospitals,” Mr Miriti said.
He appealed to the government to come clean on the benefits owed to individuals and fast-track their payment.
