The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has begun the process of biometric registration of students for EduAfya as it carries out sensitization campaigns on the comprehensive medical insurance cover for public secondary schools.
The biometric registration of students will be conducted in schools by NHIF as it also urges students to visit NHIF service points, notably branches, satellite offices and Huduma centres.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) contracted NHIF to offer a unique comprehensive medical insurance cover for public secondary school students, which has run countrywide since May 2018.
The cover specifically targets students in all public secondary schools registered in the NEMIS database; and will be exited from the scheme upon completion of KCSE exam.
Effective from May 2018, the cover specifically targets students in all public secondary schools registered in the NEMIS database; and will be exited from the scheme upon completion of KCSE exam.
The students will enjoy outpatient and inpatient cover, dental and optical services, overseas treatment, radiology services, drug and substance abuse rehabilitation, chronic illness, renal dialysis, evacuation services, group life and group personal accident in the health scheme.
According to NHIF, it is the responsibility of the principal of the school to register all the students in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) database and issue valid Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) number.
The registration of students to NHIF is automated since once a UPI number is generated and the parent’s details are captured, the system auto-registers the student with NHIF and issues a member number. The school can then view the student’s NHIF number through the NEMIS portal.
However, the national health insurer has identified a number of challenges that hinder the registration process, in particular missing data in NEMIS, especially parents or guardian’s details.
Others are incorrect dates of birth, which require amendments by NHIF, causing delays in accessing services, inaccurate UPI numbers input in the letter to the health care providers, and some learners being sent to NHIF or the hospital without UPI numbers.
Students can access outpatient services in any of the health care providers contracted by NHIF for EduAfya. They are only required to provide a letter from the school principal, a copy of birth certificate, and the UPI number during school holidays or when they are away from school.
The students can also access inpatient services on referral basis at the contracted health care providers, providing they have a copy of the birth certificate, a letter of introduction from the principal (during the school term), and biometrics at health care providers.
The cover also provides, in the case of death of a student, the last expense, which is a funeral expense cover in the case of the death of a student. NHIF will pay to the next of kin the amount specified in the limits upon receipt of duly filled claim form, copy of burial permit, and copy of birth certificate.
The MoE normally retains Ksh1,350 out of the total allocation of Ksh2,000 from the medical vote head to fund the medical cover while the rest of the vote head(Ksh650) funds is disbursed to schools to meet other medical and insurance related expenses.
According to a 2022 economic survey, the total enrollment in secondary schools rose by 4.9 per cent from 3.5 million in 2020 to 3.7 million in 2021 as a result of the implementation of the government’s 100 per cent transition policy from primary to secondary school.
In the recent disbursement to Junior Secondary School (JSS), the government allocated a total of Ksh325 under operations account in the grand allocation of Ksh7,268 disbursed in term one to cater for medical and insurance for the Grade 7 learners.
With inclusion of this group who are about one million, it implies that up to four million children in public secondary school are under the scheme.
By Education News reporter
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