The new initiative for the country is to move towards universal coverage (funded by the World Bank). A pilot has been rolled out in 4 counties (described under 2.01.03.01). It is planned to roll out cover for all households by 2022 to guarantee access to equitable, affordable, and high-quality health and related services for all citizens. Other financing strategies by the government in addition to the UHC are through taxation and health insurance contributions (to cover basic essential services). The contributions are discussed in 1.04.01 under social protection schemes. General tax revenue is 30% of value added tax which is charged at 16%. Import and excise duty each account for 10% of the total revenue while corporate tax for companies ranges between 20% and 37.5% depending on the company’s existence. A proportion of the taxes are allocated to health care in Kenya (Chuma & Okungu, 2011). These financing mechanisms translate direct household payments into prepayment so that OOP are kept at a minimum (Njuguna & Pepela, 2019).

References:

Chuma, J., & Okungu, V. (2011). Viewing the Kenyan health system through an equity lens: implications for universal coverage. International Journal for Equity in Health, 10(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-10-22

Njuguna, D., & Pepela, W. (2019). A Case for Increasing Public Investments in Health: Raising Public Commitments to Kenya’s Health Sector. Nairobi, Kenya. https://sparc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Kenya-Health-Financing-Policy-Brief.pdf