Finally! A bill that injects the right pill

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Alfred keter

It has become common for Kenyan government employers to discuss and suggest bills that aim at enlarging their pockets like increase in salary  but for once the Nandi Hills MP has a bill suggestion that wants to create a national medical fund to fully finance the treatment of chronic diseases, especially for patients who cannot afford the cost of medical care.

“What I am proposing is to make it mandatory for the government to pay for all the expenses of cancer, kidney and heart patients,”  he said. The bill has already been presented to the Budget and Appropriations Committee for consideration.

About 40,000 cases of critical ailments are reported annually, with a number of Kenyans spending millions of shillings abroad for treatment.

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According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the government will require KSh 2 billion to cater for the medical bills every year. The bill has come at a time of cancer awareness month with experts indicating over 10 million people are likely to succumb to the disease in 2018 despite better prevention methods being adopted. The report by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recorded an estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases with 9.6 million deaths.

Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter has sponsored a Medical Fund Bill that will see government pay for treatment of poor patients with cancer, heart and kidney diseases. The bill seeks to establish a functional government body charged with responsibility of financing treatment of diseases that are burdening the public sector.

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It will be mandatory for the government to cater for specialised treatment of cancer, heart and kidney patients if MPs approve a bill proposed by Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter.

According to Mr Keter, the bill should not be confused with the NHIF Act, which provides medical insurance to all diseases.

He said the bill seeks to categorise the three life-threatening diseases under State care.

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“Whereas NHIF has a limit in terms of financing treatment of the critical diseases, what I am proposing is to make it mandatory for the government to pay for all the expenses of cancer, kidney and heart patients,” said Mr Keter.

However, the Budget Committee chaired by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah will have the final say on the bill in terms of whether it will be possible for the government to finance it.

“This is a step towards universal healthcare, which is one of President Kenyatta’s Big Four agendas,” he said.

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