The Social Health Authority (SHA) has designated six banks including KCB, Sidian Bank, Co-operative Bank, Equity Bank, ABSA, and Diamond Trust Bank as the official collection accounts for employer contributions.
Abdi Mohamed, the chairperson of the SHA-- the agency created to run the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and replace the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)-- said employers expressed preference for the six banks to make the remittances.
"We spoke to employers who told us where they prefer to be making the payments from and ensured that the banks are first approved and licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). We also have our own paybill number for individuals who wish to pay via M-Pesa by following these steps to help flatten the curve," he said.
Questions have been raised as to why remittances are processed through a different pay bill and not the single government pay bill unveiled by President Willam Ruto.
"The government single paybill and even e-Citizen are still marred by a number of challenges which we did not want to derail us," the SHA chairman said.
From October 1, Kenyan workers in the formal sector will be parting with 2.75 percent of their monthly gross pay while households in the informal sector cede a similar percentage from the gross income.
Kenyans, with no source of income, are required to pay at least Sh300 every month to SHIF as the State targets a vast funding pool to finance Universal Healthcare (UHC).
For instance, a salaried worker with a monthly gross salary of Sh50,000 will pay Sh1,375 under SHIF, up from Sh1,200 under NHIF.
For a worker earning Sh100,000 the deductions under SHIF will climb to Sh2,750, up from Sh1,700 under NHIF.
Those earning Sh20,000 will, however some relief under SHIF and will part with Sh550, down from the Sh750 they contributed under NHIF.
Bigger earners who take home Sh1million will feel the biggest pinch under SHIF by parting with Sh27,500 compared to Sh1,700 under the NHIF scheme.
