Relief as NHIF agrees to settle medical bills for victims of Corona
Lewis Njoka and Bernard Gitau
INSURANCE: National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) has reiterated that it will clear medical bills for its members who seek treatment for coronavirus pandemic in government-approved health facilities even as other insurers backtrack on their earlier promise.
In a statement, NHIF said it will, however, not offset bills incurred in health facilities that are not designated by the Ministry of Health.
It also released a list of hospitals where it will cover Covid-19 related admissions.
Other facility
Facilities include Kenyatta National Teaching Referral Hospital, Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, Mbagathi County Hospital, County designated facilities and any other facility as may be designated by the Ministry of Health.
“The health and wellness of our members is of utmost importance to us and in support to the government’s efforts in mitigating and containing the spread of Covid-19, we shall support all Covid-19 positive members and their declared beneficiaries who get admitted to the Ministry of Health designated facilities,” NHIF Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kamunyo, said. “NHIF shall not be liable for bills incurred in non-MoH designated health facilities,” he added.
The announcement comes only days after it emerged that some insurers had reneged on their earlier pledge and are turning away Covid-19 positive patients despite promising in March that they would foot their bills.
Kamunyo said the insurer would provide medical cover to Covid-19 patients despite the fact that pandemics are normally excluded as per insurance global best practice, a fact captured in NHIF’s Clause 8 on General Exclusions.
“Due to the inability to project and to accurately model the magnitude and the duration of pandemics, as a global practice, once declared by WHO, epidemics and pandemics are generally not covered by insurance policies,” he added.
Kenyan insurers have been flip-flopping on the matter of clearing bills for Covid-19 patients with the latest reports indicating that many are not covering Covid-19 patients.
