As businesses in Kenya continue to face tough operating environments and decreased earnings, many are doing all things possible to avoid being in the red.
The extent of what firms are willing to do to in order to remain afloat has now come to light, with NHIF announcing that it would stop covering malaria treatment as it is one of the most prevalent diseases in Kenya.
“Malaria is very common in Kenya, and every year we spend billions of shillings paying for the treatment of people infected with the disease,” said the Chief executive Officer. “If we stop covering malaria, we could save about two billion shillings every year and hence return to profitability.”
“It is just a matter of common sense that we need to drop the most expensive disease that is commonly treated,” argued one of the Board members. “We are a business whose primary goal is to make money for its insiders, and one way to achieve this is to ask our customers to pay for their own malaria treatment.”
The move is likely to be replicated by other insurance service providers in Kenya who are facing hard times covering heath matters. Hospitals will also be forced to offer reasonably priced malarial drugs as they now won’t have Insurance companies to milk.
Kenyans are now advised to avoid contracting malaria by all means, as this will save them a lot of money. This will also allow Bill and Melinda Gates to direct their precious money that they spend on malaria to other urgent needs such as climate change.
If this is achieved, the only casualties will be the Non-Governmental Organizations which make a living seeking for donor funds to combat malaria.
