Having medical insurance couldn’t be more crucial in this age where chronic illnesses are on the rise. However, most medical covers offered by insurance companies are out of reach for many Kenyans. Additionally, the rising cost of living has made it difficult for those who could afford such covers to renew their policies. This has prompted many to move to cheaper alternatives like NHIF to avoid having to foot large hospital bills from their pockets in case of a serious medical illness.
NHIF cover is one of the most affordable in the country and within reach for most Kenyans. With only Kshs 500 per month, you get a medical cover that includes services such as:
- Hospital stay
- Operation theater charges
- Consultation
- Management of chronic ailments
- Drugs & dispensation
- Family planning & maternity services
Additionally, NHIF has made it easy and convenient for members to pay their monthly contributions. Members can pay through M-pesa, bank deposit or Safaricom bonga points. Therefore, there’s no reason why you should not have a NHIF cover or miss a payment.
For those who are employed, your employer deducts your NHIF fees from your salary every month and pays it on your behalf. For those who are self employed or unemployed, you need to make the payments yourself. This is crucial since failure to pay your monthly NHIF contributions attracts hefty penalties.
You have to pay 50 percent of your monthly contribution as a penalty for every month you did not pay your contribution in addition to paying the regular subscription for all the months you didn’t pay. If you fail to pay your NHIF monthly subscriptions for more than a year, your cover will automatically expire. This means that you will need to reactivate your policy before making any payments. You will be treated as a new member and will have to wait for 3 months for your cover to be activated. Until then, you just have to hope that you don’t have a medical emergency.
The best way to avoid such inconveniences is ensure that you make your payments on time which is before the 9th of the following month. As mentioned, paying for your NHIF cover couldn’t be easier. Here’s how to pay for your NHIF cover.
- How to pay through banks
You can pay through a number of banks like Equity Bank, National Bank (NBK), Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Cooperative Bank. There are NHIF Printed Banking slips available at these banks.
- How to pay through Bonga Points
You can use your Bonga points to pay for NHIF by dialing *126#, navigating to Lipa Na Bonga, then to PayBill Number as 222222, and the account number as NHIFM-IDNumber without spaces.
- How to pay through e-citizen
To pay via e-citizen, you need to visit the NHIF website then select Self Care at the top right corner. Sign in to Self Care through your e-citizen or NHIF account. After signing in, select Pay Contributions then choose to pay for self or pay to others. Fill in the correct details and amount to pay. After filling the details, a prompt message from M-pesa will appear on your phone. Enter your M-pesa PIN to complete the transaction. You will receive a message confirming payment.
- How to pay through M-pesa
To pay through M-pesa, go to the M-pesa menu and select Lipa na M-pesa then click on Paybill. Enter 222222 as the Paybill number and NHIFM-IDNumber without space as the account number. Enter the amount you want to pay. You can pay for several months up to a year. This means the maximum amount the system can accept is Ksh 6,000. Enter your M-Pesa pin to complete the transaction. You will receive a confirmation message which is proof of payment.
The process is similar when paying for penalties. However, for the account number, you will enter your ID number with a ‘y’ at the end. For example, if your ID number is 13475648, you will enter 13475648y.