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Kenyan employers face additional burden of statutory deductions if Parliament passes a Bill that requires business owners to match workers’ monthly contributions to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Doubling the Sh1,700 that top contributors make to the NHIF ranks high on the list of targeted changes to the NHIF Act, which will be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday morning at a special session.
The plan is to have the workers continue paying same amounts and employers matching in a structure modelled on the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
This will see employers pay at least Sh25 billion to NHIF, a hit to firms that are yet to recover from coronavirus-induced slump, which triggered job cuts, hiring freezes and business closures.
“The bill proposes to amend Section 15 of the Act to provide for the liability of employers to make a matching contribution to the fund equal to that which the employee is liable and makes it mandatory for Kenyan residents to contribute to the fund,” says the government-backed Bill to be introduced in Parliament by National Assembly Majority Leader, Amos Kimunya.