Unions up in arms over private insurer choice

Public sector unions are not ready to have their medical scheme under a private insurer, they said yesterday.

They are comfortable with the new scheme under the Social Health Authority (SHA), where they said their funds are safe.
The unions have a Sh6 billion fund, and are calling for its protection from infiltration.

Drawn from the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS), Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) among others, the unions said that the law is not clear on this Fund when transitioning from the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to SHA.

They argued in a statement read by KMPDU Secretary General, Dr Davji Atellah that if the law does not provide for the fund to be protected under SHA, then the Act under the new scheme be amended to provide for the implementation of the kitty.

“The law was not made in vacuum, law is made for money and an amendment can be done, So what we are demanding now, is that this money must be implemented in SHA and the SHA act must be amended to accommodate this,” said the Unions.

Tom Odege, the UKCS Secretary General, stated that the members of these unions are civil servants, and therefore must be covered within an arm of government.

“The money we have, must be implemented in that fund, because this is government money. We must invest in the government fund where we have a say; where we can also make amendments, and where we can also make our views to be heard,” he said at a news conference at KMPDU headquarters.

Public servants

On October 8, the public sector unions issued a joint strike notice demanding, among other things, the provision of a Comprehensive Medical Insurance cover for all public servants following the Lapse of the civil servants’ scheme as envisioned in the SHA transition clause 5.

The state Department of Public Services and SHA responded by extending the civil servants Comprehensive medical insurance cover until November 21.

“So we want to be very clear here today that we are not ready to be covered by any private institution,” Odege added.

The unions are arguing that the monies they used to enjoy as civil servants are there and are just coming out strongly to protect them.

“There were some people who were trying to bring out the views that we are trying to extort the public by getting more money from the taxpayers’ money.

“No, we have a 6-billion shilling fund, which we have been implementing to cover civil servants. This is the money we want to protect using our regulation,” he added.

George Gibore, representing the clinical officers said that after protecting this money, they also want to have a say where it is going to be invested.

“This money must be invested in an infrastructure managed by the government, which is offering cover for the civil servants. And this one is none other than SHA,” he said.

Comprehensive scheme

Gibore pointed out that the benefits package for the comprehensive medical insurance scheme for public servants shall remain the same as what has been there previously and it will be open for public servants.

“We are stating that the government will forthwith not procure private insurance for public servants,” he demanded.

The medical insurance scheme shall be funded by the pooled medical allowances under the Public Servants medical insurance scheme fund to be managed by the SHA, he added.

“To make it clear, this is not money contributed by the other Kenyans to the Social Health Insurance Fund- SHIF as has been alluded to by some quarters but the forfeited medical allowance by Public servants,” he said.

An employer, Dr Atellah revisited, shall ensure the provision, sufficient and of proper medicine for his employees during illness and if possible medical attendance during serious illness.

To actualize the establishment of this fund the joint team made up of government and public sector unions came up with draft regulations that have been released by the Treasury for public participation.

Respective unions

“We therefore implore all over 6 million public servants and their dependents’ to interact with the regulations and send their feedback to their respective unions for onward transmission as their respective Unions’ stand,” he said.

A team comprising of the Head of Public Service, Treasury, Ministry of Public Service, Office of Attorney General, Ministry of Health, and Public Sector Unions was formed to come up with a long-term solution to this problem bearing in mind that in 2011 all public servants forfeited their medical allowances so that the government would pool the funds together and provide them with a comprehensive medical insurance cover above and beyond their NHIF contribution.

The negotiations that followed culminated in the establishment of a public officers’ Medical Scheme Fund, for purposes of continuity of Comprehensive Medical insurance cover for public servants.

The agreement was signed on 23rd October 2024 suspending the intended strike action and affirming that the comprehensive medical insurance cover shall continue beyond November 21.

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