President Ruto Optimistic on Addressing Taifa Care Challenges
President William Ruto on Monday seek to reassure Kenyians that the problems observed in the migration from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA) now called Taifa Care will soon be ironed out.
President Ruto, while addressing the 11th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit at the State House, Nairobi said he was aware that citizens were struggling to seek medical services under the new system. These problems he laid blamed on the ‘scale and ambition’ of the Taifa Care programme.
“On record, Taifa Care is enormous in scale, ambitious in undertaking, and historically unprecedented, however, we trust available solutions to multiphase the hitches soon,” Ruto said. On this, he said that the government was determined to provide affordable health care for all the citizens, through ensuring that all citizens of Kenya can have a right to quality health care services at an affordable cost regardless of their wealth.
The problem of Taifa Care and Government’s Defense
Since its inception, there are numerous complaints in regard to compensation at Taifa Care and their ability to getting proper health care. Several Kenyans have also been aggrieved by the working difficulties arising from the shift as a result of the scheme from NHIF.
However, President William Ruto and Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa have stood firm in support of the program, stressing on Kenyans patience as the government sorts out the efficiency of the program.
To support the implementation of Taifa Care, Kenyans are expected to make a contribution of 2.75% of their earnings with a cap of Ksh.300 per month.
Enrollment Progress
In his Seat of the Nation Address that was delivered on the 21st, President Ruto stated that over 15 million Kenyans had registered to the Taifa Care program. He especially pointed out that the given initiative could dramatically shift the healthcare accessibility in the whole country.
Looking Ahead
While the government is working to overcome the technological and operational challenges affecting Taifa Care, Kenya’s president Ruto has urged patient to wait since his regime is committed to implementing the bottomed promise of delivering quality and affordable healthcare to every citizen.