Attitudes of Parastatal Employees Towards the Proposed Increase in Premiums by the National Hospital Insurance Fund

Abstract

In July 2010, a new proposal was passed for the implementation of a new premium contribution structure. This contribution structure proposed an increase of total premium collections from the then Kshs.5 billion to a projected Kshs.10 billion. This increase was estimated to be between 500% and 600% resulting in the lowest income group (earning Kshs.5,999 or less) being required to contribute Kshs.150 monthly, while those earning an income of over Kshs.30,000 would contribute Kshs.1000 monthly. The broad objective of the study was to investigate customer attitudes towards the proposed increase in the insurance premiums. The specific objectives were to assess parastatal employees’ level of awareness of the proposed insurance premiums by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF); establish the parastatal employees’ attitudes towards the proposed insurance premiums; identify the factors influencing parastatal employees’ towards the proposed increase in medical insurance premiums by the NHIF; and to determine the influence of parastatal employees and their willingness to contribute more premiums to NHIF. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. The population was 84,400 employees in the parastatal bodies. A sample of 384 was selected using convenience sampling method. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire which was administered both personally by the researcher and through email. The questionnaires were administered to staff of parastatals in Nairobi. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics.