The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret town on Wednesday hosted the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Peter Kamunyo to mark a year since the launch of the Busia County Universal Health Coverage (UHC) pilot.
The pilot is a collaborative partnership between MTRH/AMPATH, NHIF, and Busia County Government.
It aims to demonstrate a UHC model using a three-pronged approach with economic empowerment, health systems strengthening, and healthcare financing reforms with the expansion of health insurance coverage using NHIF.
Speaking during the meeting, MTRH CEO, Dr. Wilson Aruasa reiterated the importance of implementing the proposed model because of its holistic approach and the need for multi-sectorial collaboration to address the social determinants of health.
“The role of government agencies in the pilot provides a unique opportunity to scale up the model countrywide,” said Dr. Aruasa.
NHIF boss Dr. Peter Kamunyo on his part applauded the efforts of the team and the Busia Health Widget. He noted that the model spoke to the key issues being addressed by ongoing NHIF reforms.
“The reforms provide a legal framework to achieve UHC in the country. The reforms include, among others, the adoption of the digital systems, mandatory enrolment of all adults into the UHC supa cover as well as the identification and enrolment of indigent households into the scheme,” he said.
According to Dr. Kamunyo, while public facilities were beginning to tap more into the potential of NHIF capitation and reimbursement to finance the service delivery, there was still a huge untapped potential that remain.
Also in the meeting was Prof. J. Mamlin, one of the founders of AMPATH, who lauded the partnership and expressed confidence in the model. He challenged the team to remain adaptive to the ever-changing policy environment.
Prof. Kimaiyo, AMPATH Executive Director, care, echoed his sentiments adding that the UHC model was a culmination of over 2 decades of providing care in Western Kenya and remained confident that the lessons from the model would be applicable in similar settings globally.
The model proposes that the County Governments play a central role in the contribution of NHIF premiums for its citizens.
Households would also be expected to contribute to the pilot in order to mobilize sufficient resources for the rollout of the pilot.
