Kenya consolidates payment system for NHIF and other government services

KENYA—The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has announced that all Kenyans and employers that make contributions to the NHIF must use the official government Paybill number 222222.

In August, President William Ruto issued a directive for government agencies to utilize the official government pay bill number, emphasizing the need for efficiency and data integrity.

This order complies with the President’s directive, which designates Pay Bill Number 222222 as the government’s single payment platform, as well as Kenya Gazette No. 16008 of 2022.

At the time, President Ruto highlighted the digitization initiative as a means to enhance efficiency and combat corruption within government agencies.

Reiterating the significance of the move, NHIF CEO Elijah Wachira said, “The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) notifies all members and employers that, effective immediately, all NHIF payments through mobile money platforms shall only be made through the government Pay bill number 222222.”

He went on to say that this choice is compliant with the presidential order establishing Paybill number 222222 as the official government payment platform.

Under the new payment mode, NHIF members must enter the Paybill number and use the NHIFM-ID number as the account number, or NHIFP-ID Number if they are paying for any penalties accrued.

In contrast, employers will contribute by first entering the Paybill number, followed by the NHIFE-Eslip number as the account number for contributions, and the NHIFEP-employer code for penalties.

In the past, users who wanted to make monthly donations with mobile money had to go to the M-PESA Menu, select Lipa Na Mpesa, input the Paybill number 200222, and then input their account number, which was their national ID number.

NHIF is the most recent organization to adhere to the government’s mandate on the digital payment system (e-citizen) to further streamline government services.

The recent NHIF directive reflects ongoing efforts to consolidate payment processes, ensuring a centralized and accountable system across various government entities.

Felix Koskei, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, praised the government’s decision to go digital and emphasized the substantial income produced since e-citizen services were accessible.

According to Koskei, over 250 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are fully onboard the e-Citizen, offering over 16,000 government services, up from 397 in June 2022, generating Sh281 million in daily revenue.

He underlined that, with complete compliance, daily revenue may exceed the daily target of Sh1 billion.

Given this, Koskei asked government organizations that continued to use alternative payment methods, such as till numbers, to cease doing so following the December Presidential Directive.

The regulation stipulates that the e-citizen site must be used to make all payments for government services.Top of Form

NHIF Recipients in Rural Kenya to Face Cash Payments Starting December 15th

Meanwhile, with effect from Friday of next week, recipients of NHIF in rural areas will be required to begin paying for services with cash.

The reason behind this development is the warning that the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) issued, indicating that they may stop providing some medical services covered by the NHIF.

This possible disturbance is mostly due to the government’s prolonged hold-up in funding disbursements during the previous six months.

RUPHA Chairman Dr. Brian Lishenga encouraged the government to follow through on its end of the agreement within the next seven working days in a letter to NHIF Board Chair Eng. Michael Kamau.

Dr. Lishenga listed particular services that may soon need beneficiaries to make direct payments, including surgical operations, the Linda Mama scheme, the Edu Afya medical plan, the outpatient capitation scheme, and the e-claims system that has been stopped since 2019.

The chairman voiced his concerns, pointing out that for the past six months, the board has neglected to pay medical facilities in strict accordance with our agreement’s terms.

Dr. Lishenga stressed that the agreement between RUPHA and NHIF has been consistently and blatantly broken by this non-payment.

In order to fill the financial void left by the Board’s failure, Dr. Lishenga declared that health facilities would have no choice but to promptly notify recipients of the NHIF schemes that they would need to make additional cash payments in order to receive services, starting on December 15, 2023.

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