Friday, January 19, 2024 - President William Ruto
can now breathe a sigh of relief after the Court of Appeal lifted temporary
orders that barred the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act.
The appellate court overturned the orders that were granted
by the High Court and allowed the new Act to replace the defunct NHIF
Act.
"We hereby suspend the orders of the High Court
restraining the implementation and or enforcement of The Social Health
Insurance Act, 2023, The Primary Health Care Act, 2023 and The Digital Health
Act, 2023," Justices Patrick Kiage, Pauline Nyamweya and Grace Ngenye
ruled.
The judges added that the Health Cabinet Secretary Susan
Nakhumicha was right in her warning that barring the Social Health Insurance
Act would jeopardize the sector.
They also noted that the local citizens who are supposed to
benefit from the Insurance Act were not party to the case in court.
Nonetheless, the court suspended a directive ordering
beneficiaries to only access healthcare services where their contributions to
the Social Health Insurance Fund are up to date and active.
This directive was provided under Section 26(5) of the Act
which also stipulated that access to public services would only be granted to
contributors.
However, on November 27, 2023, the high court issued orders
barring the implementation of the new funding system after Health CS Nakhumicha
gazetted its rollout.
The new development comes after Ruto threatened to do the
unthinkable to Martha Koome’s Judiciary, accusing it of sabotaging his legacy
projects.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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