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- The End of NHIF, SHIF is Here; Safaricom Negotiates with Starlink
The End of NHIF, SHIF is Here; Safaricom Negotiates with Starlink
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Kenyan Wall Street
September 30, 2024
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What's Inside
Graph showing sources of diaspora remittances. By Zainab Hafsah.
The End of NHIF, The Tumultuous Beginning of SHIF
Last week, a meeting convened by the Ministry of Health and the private sector on Friday to brief media on the 1st October 2024 migration from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) was abruptly cancelled without a clear explanation.
Safaricom, Apeiro, Konvergenz, Social Health Authority and top officials from the ministry of health were lined up to address the meeting at a Nairobi Hotel from 7:30am.
Four hours after the set 7:30 am start time for the event, representatives from different media houses who honoured the invite were left with no clear explanation on the cancellation raising more questions on last minute decision to cancel the event.
During the meeting, a team of experts were expected to take members of the fourth estate through what Kenyans should expect from the beginning of October and how the new system will work.
“We can’t keep on holding you further as some of you might be having other important events to cover, you are free to leave,” the event’s master of ceremony said as he freed journalists. Read more.
More than 1.5 million people have so far migrated to the Social Health Fund ahead of the October 1st deadline, with about 75, 000 people registering every day, the Ministry of Health has said.
The total number is still marginal compared to the 12 million members currently registered on the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The Social Health Authority (SHA), which will replace NHIF, aims to provide affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare services.
In addition to launching the SHA, the government is partnering with Safaricom to digitise healthcare services.
“The NHIF has its loyal members whom we are banking on to automatically migrate to the new system, we have cleaned up the data and from our end out of the 12 million, around 9.2 million loyal members are expected to automatically move with us to the new system by Tuesday next week,” Harry Kimtai, the Principal Secretary Medical Services, said noting that over 75,000 people are registering to the SHA portal every day. Read More
“We can lose money on individual things, and we can have bad years in the economy, that doesn’t bother me in the least.
What really bothers me is when I do something that really harms Berkshire’s value. That’s not a good day for me.”
― Warren Buffet, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
Safaricom Bites the Bullet, Reenages Starlink
Safaricom PLC has confirmed it is in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink and other satellite companies, as competition heats up in its home market where it enjoys a dominant position previously seen as insurmountable.
CEO Peter Ndegwa told Bloomberg TV that the telco has “to partner with Starlink or other satellite providers in future to make sure that that technology plays right through.”
Starlink has been on an aggressive expansion drive, ostensibly to reach economies of scale in SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk’s master plan, that have seen it tussle for market share and shake otherwise complacent telco and ISP sectors across the globe.
Earlier this month, a source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of their role, told The Kenyan Wall Street that Starlink tried to convince Safaricom to partner with them before entering the Kenyan market but the telco rejected the offer.
“We have had some discussions, and we will continue to have those discussions to the extent that they complement what we are offering,” Peter Ndegwa said.
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