Children of senior retired State officials,, will benefit from the officer’s medical and hospital covers.
This follows amendments to the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designate State Officers) Act of 2015 during the passage of the Finance Bill 2023 on Wednesday night
This now means that children of the former senior officers including former Deputy Presidents, former Vice Presidents, former Speakers and former Prime Ministers will be eligible for full medical and hospital cover, including local and overseas treatment.
Previously, only the spouses of the designated officers were included in the medical cover.
Children benefiting must be aged below 18 or under 25 in full-time education.
Inclusion of the children as part of medical and hospital covers adds to the list of benefits derived by the designated State officers.
This is as Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha committed to see that changes are made at the National Health Insurance Fund.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Heart Center and Cath Lab Unit at Coptic Hospital, Nakhumicha stated that transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to a social health insurance fund, is underway.
This follows recent allegations that NHIF was minting millions of shillings through rogue hospitals.
It also emerged that some Kenyans had lost money through dubious payments by individuals claiming to be employees of NHIF.