Industry | Insurance |
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Founded | 1966 |
Headquarters | Nairobi, Kenya |
Key people |
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Products | Health insurance |
Website | www |
The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is a Kenya government state corporation with a mandate to provide health insurance to Kenyans. [2] The core business and mandate for NHIF is to provide accessible, affordable, sustainable and quality health insurance for all Kenyan citizens. The National Hospital Insurance Fund has published new NHIF rates which took effect on April 1, 2015. Citizens can check their National Hospital Insurance Fund's status by using the following methods; NHIF's official website, My NHIF App, via SMS, and USSD code. [3]
The National Hospital Insurance Fund was established in 1967 as a department within the ministry of health, by an Act of parliament. This has been reviewed over the years and it is now governed by ACT NO. 9 of 1998 - National Hospital Insurance Fund Act. [4] The Act was amended in 2022 to become the National Health Insurance Fund Act, and the name of the corporation was changed to National Health Insurance Fund.
The core business and mandate for NHIF is to provide accessible, affordable, sustainable and quality health insurance for all Kenyan citizens. The NHIF has published new NHIF rates which took effect on April 1, 2015.
In 2001 a scandal relating to irregularities in purchase of ambulances for the NHIF resulted in the sacking of the Minister for Medical Services Amukowa Anangwe. [5]
The NHIF is estimated to have lost 479m shillings in the collapse of Euro Bank after the bank collapsed with deposits from state corporations. [6]
In early 2012, the NHIF was embroiled in a controversy surrounding revelations on the Kenya Civil Servants Health Care Scheme. [7]
Socialized medicine is a term used in the United States to describe and discuss systems of universal health care—medical and hospital care for all by means of government regulation of health care and subsidies derived from taxation. Because of historically negative associations with socialism in American culture, the term is usually used pejoratively in American political discourse. The term was first widely used in the United States by advocates of the American Medical Association in opposition to President Harry S. Truman's 1947 health care initiative. It was later used in opposition to Medicare. The Affordable Care Act has been described in terms of socialized medicine, but the act's objective is rather socialized insurance, not government ownership of hospitals and other facilities as is common in other nations.
Health insurance or medical insurance is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among many individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health risk and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to provide the money to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity.
The Massachusetts health care reform, commonly referred to as Romneycare, was a healthcare reform law passed in 2006 and signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney with the aim of providing health insurance to nearly all of the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Health care in Australia operates under a shared public-private model underpinned by the Medicare system, the national single-payer funding model. State and territory governments operate public health facilities where eligible patients receive care free of charge. Primary health services, such as GP clinics, are privately owned in most situations, but attract Medicare rebates. Australian citizens, permanent residents, and some visitors and visa holders are eligible for health services under the Medicare system. Individuals are encouraged through tax surcharges to purchase health insurance to cover services offered in the private sector, and further fund health care.
In the United States, health insurance helps pay for medical expenses through privately purchased insurance, social insurance, or a social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage", "health care coverage", and "health benefits". In a more technical sense, the term "health insurance" is used to describe any form of insurance providing protection against the costs of medical services. This usage includes both private insurance programs and social insurance programs such as Medicare, which pools resources and spreads the financial risk associated with major medical expenses across the entire population to protect everyone, as well as social welfare programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which both provide assistance to people who cannot afford health coverage.
Healthcare in Singapore is under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Singapore. It mainly consists of a government-run publicly funded universal healthcare system as well as a significant private healthcare sector. Financing of healthcare costs is done through a mixture of direct government subsidies, compulsory comprehensive savings, national healthcare insurance, and cost-sharing.
Kenya's health care system is structured in a step-wise manner so that complicated cases are referred to a higher level. Gaps in the system are filled by private and church run units.
In South Africa, private and public health systems exist in parallel. The public system serves the vast majority of the population. Authority and service delivery are divided between the national Department of Health, provincial health departments, and municipal health departments.
Tanzania has a hierarchical health system which is in tandem with the political-administrative hierarchy. At the bottom, there are the dispensaries found in every village where the village leaders have a direct influence on its running. The health centers are found at ward level and the health center in charge is answerable to the ward leaders. At the district, there is a district hospital and at the regional level a regional referral hospital. The tertiary level is usually the zone hospitals and at a national level, there is the national hospital. There are also some specialized hospitals that do not fit directly into this hierarchy and therefore are directly linked to the ministry of health.
Hungary has a tax-funded universal healthcare system, organized by the state-owned National Health Insurance Fund. While healthcare is considered universal, several reasons persist preventing Hungarian nationals to access healthcare services. For instance, a Hungarian citizen who lived abroad but is unable to show contributions to another country's healthcare system will not be able to access the Hungarian healthcare system free of charge. However, to the OECD, 100% of the total population is covered by universal health insurance, which is absolutely free for children, mothers or fathers with babies, students, pensioners, people with low income, handicapped people, priests and other church employees. In 2022 the cost of public health insurance is 8,400 HUF per month which is the equivalent of $23.69. The healthcare system underwent significant changes which also resulted in improving life expectancy and a very low infant mortality rate. According to the OECD Hungary spent 7.8% of its GDP on health care in 2012. Total health expenditure was $US1,688.7 per capita in 2011, US$1,098.3governmental-fund (65%) and US$590.4 private-fund (35%).
Healthcare in Slovenia is organised primarily through the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia. In 2015, healthcare expenditures accounted for 8.10% of GDP. The Slovenian healthcare system was ranked 15th in the Euro health consumer index 2015. The country ranked second in the 2012 Euro Hepatitis Index.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few private hospitals. Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage; which covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines. It is a tax-exempt, government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines, and is attached to the Department of Health. On August 4, 1969, Republic Act 6111 or the Philippine Medical Care Act of 1969 was signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos which was eventually implemented in August 1971.
The Euro Bank Scandal is a scandal that in February 2003, caused a political storm in Kenya after the collapse of Nairobi Based Euro Bank. This resulted in a loss of 1.4bn Kenyan shillings which state organisations had deposited in the Bank.
The NHIF Civil Servants Scheme Scandal is an alleged scandal, relating to irregularities that were revealed in the Kenya Civil Servants Scheme at the National Hospital Insurance Fund, in early 2012.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is divided into 10 titles and contains provisions that became effective immediately, 90 days after enactment, and six months after enactment, as well as provisions phased in through to 2020. Below are some of the key provisions of the ACA. For simplicity, the amendments in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are integrated into this timeline.
Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation is a statutory institution established under the Kenya Deposit Insurance Act, 2012. The Corporation is mandated to provide a deposit insurance scheme for customers of member institutions, to provide incentives for sound risk management and generally promote the stability of the financial system and prompt resolution.
Osun Health Insurance Scheme (O'HIS) established by the Osun State government in Nigeria to improve the life of the people of the state at a more minimal rate, it was created to help the people have easy access to Health Care management/Insurance.