Challenges in provision of universal health care by the National Hospital Insurance Fund, Kenya
Abstract
There is precedent for moving Kenya towards Universal Health Care. The Kenyan
Constitution states that every Kenyan has a right to quality and affordable health care,
and recognizes the role of the government in removing barriers to access. This was
recently affirmed in Sessional Paper No. 7 of 2012 on Universal Health Care. The Kenya
government‘s commitment to providing health care for all of its citizens is clearly
moving in the right direction. This study sought to find the challenges and solutions in
provision of Universal Health Care. The data was collected from top management
employees, members of staff, trustee and the secretariat of NHIF. The data collected was
analysed using content analysis and the results presented in prose form. A combination of
primary and secondary sources was used to collect data for the study. The study found
that provision of universal health care has its challenges in Kenya which are shortage of
government budgetary resources, weak health systems, high poverty levels, reaching
vulnerable people, selecting the right package of benefits, integration of the informal
sector, and misuse of resource. It was concluded that the government can use
mechanisms to curb this challenges with include, increasing the efficiency of revenue
collection, initiate schemes for informal sector, and the government should ensure broad
coverage through health reforms in the whole country. The study concluded that
universal health care is essential to all people in Kenya and this translates to the
acceptance of the fact that the economically strong will have to pay more than the poor.
Since the study was conducted in Kenya, it is recommended that similar studies be
conducted in other NHIF organizations regionally to provide more information. It is also
recommended that other studies on universal health care in Kenya be done to avail more
information on the health situation in Kenya.
Citation
Master of Business AdministrationPublisher
University of Nairobi