Members from the Minority side of the National Assembly complained over the dropping of amendments to one of the bills that had been proposed from the public participation sessions.
The Azimio-One Kenya MPs expressed their frustrations leading the session chair David Ochieng to rule that they could move the amendments by themselves.
This as the Senate sitting in Turkana fast-tracked the processing of two bills that should eventually be handed over to the National Assembly.
In just two days, the National Assembly has considered the Digital Health Bill and the Social Health Insurance Bill through two critical stages; first, the second reading which involves debate in the House and then the committee stage where amendments are considered. The Digital Health Bill had a smooth sail in the house.
Just before amendments to the Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023 could be considered, members from the Minority Side complained that the Health Committee chair Robert Pukose had left out crucial amendments.
“When we looked at the amendments we proposed, they were different from the committee amendments that were recommended. They have been left out,” Seme MP Dr. James Nyikal said.
“When you come and find different indications against eh report, constitutionally this is wrong. Is this legislation that was taken to public participation?” Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang added.
Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa on his part said: “Any of you can bring the amendments. The report is a property of the house, not the chair.”
The MPs are concerned that due to the government’s rush or target to implement the Bills which include the rollout of 100,000 community health promoters and the rollout of a new National Insurance Fund targeting 2.75 per cent of Kenyans’ earnings, the amendments proposed in the report may have been unwanted by the Executive.
“Even if there is a lot of pressure, we can open the pressure valve a little bit so that we can able to do things in an orderly manner,” Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo stated.
In Lodwar, the Senate was considering the Primary Health Care Bill 2023 and the Facilities Improvement Financing Bill, 2023. In just two days, the bills had been taken through the second reading and are now at the committee stage.
Once considered, the bills should head to the third reading which is a formality, before they can be taken to the next House for concurrence.
Part of the implication of the Social Health Insurance Fund is the phase-out of the current NHIF.
All NHIF funds, liabilities and assets will shift to a new social health authority. This means that NHIF will cease offering services with current enhanced benefits schemes and packages under NHIF shifting to the new authority until the expiry of the current contracts.
The NHIF board will be required to wind up within one year. The new social health authority will start on a clean slate hiring its own staff based on numbers that will be approved by the board.
The Bill provides that current NHIF staff are eligible to apply for positions as will be advertised and that those who will not be absorbed will choose to either retire from the public service or be redeployed to other officers within the public service.