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The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and BodaBoda Safety Association of Kenya signed a partnership to enhance the Universal Health Care (UHC) coverage.
The partnership will benefit over 5 Million Kenyans who rely on the BodaBoda industry.
Present were Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology CS Joe Mucheru, Government of Kenya Spokesperson, Col. (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna, NHIF Board Chairman Hon. Lewis Nguyai, NHIF CEO, Dr. Peter Kamunyo and BodaBoda Safety Association of Kenya Chairman Kevin Mubadi.
The cover will see to it that all riders will be covered across all the 47 counties.
“We are delighted by the partnership between GOK and BAK through various ways and it has had many benefits including safety training, first aid and also mechanics training. UHC is a very critical aspect of our society since insurance helps in the alleviation of poverty among us, making healthcare affordable for all,” CS Mucheru said during the signing of the M.O.U of the BodaBoda Universal Super Cover.
In Kenya, 15% of road accident victims are bodaboda riders. Out of all the victims, only 11% have insurance. This implies that 89% of BodaBoda riders don’t have medical insurance. Currently, NHIF is aiming to register 800,000 riders in the recent biometric drive. The industry is huge and cumulatively, can access more than 8 million Kenyans daily.
Biometric registration in NHIF has also been established. It increases efficiency, prompt access and reduces insurance fraud. This process will also ensure transparency and accountability.
NHIF has so far been able to effect 34/55 reforms. Most importantly, digitization of records. Currently, we are in the process of converting all claim payments to digital. So far, we have completed 4 regions and aim to complete all other regions in the next few weeks.
The Government encourages those who are able to pay for the cover to do so since it is cheaper using insurance to cover medical bills than using cash payments which are very costly in the long-term.
At a rate of Ksh. 500 per month, broken down to Ksh. 17 per day for an individual. The same cover can pay for up to 4 members, cascading down to a contribution of Ksh. 4 per day, per individual.
NHIF as an insurance provider is aiming towards provision of affordable healthcare in line with the Big 4 Agenda. So far, the fund has been able expand the healthcare network providers, review of structure, biometric registration and embracing of technology. This aims to provide seamless and transparent services to the public.
The bodaboda industry can be a good platform to sensitize the public about the importance of insurance due to their large numbers.