NHIF is a statutory deduction that members registered with NHIF have to remit on the due dates. A statutory deduction is a legal requirement where an employer is an agent of the government and is required to deduct money on behalf of the government and remit the deducted money to the government. Examples of statutory deductions that employers are required to deduct from employees include; NHIF, NSSF, KRA Taxes (PAYE, VAT, WHT)
Article Summary
- What is NHIF
- NHIF Registration for Self-Employed People
- NHIF Registration for Employed People
- NHIF Employer Registration for Companies
- How to Add Dependant on NHIF Cover
- How to Check NHIF Contribution Status
- How to Pay for NHIF via Mpesa
- How to File NHIF as an Employer
- NHIF Penalties
- NHIF Compliance Certificate
The National Hospital Insurance Fund is a State Parastatal that was established in 1966 as a department under the Ministry of Health.
About NHIF
The core mandate of NHIF is to provide medical insurance cover to all its members and their declared dependents.
NHIF is an Insurance Scheme that provides medical insurance cover to members both inpatient and outpatient at NHIF-accredited hospitals. Outpatient services are limited only to one’s selected hospital while inpatient service can be accessed from any accredited hospital.
The accredited hospitals are categorized into 3 categories:
- Category A – Government Hospitals
- Category B – Faith-Based and Medium Cost Private Facilities
- Category C – High-Cost Private Facilities
NHIF cover is provided under a two-tier category;
- National Scheme (Supa Cover)
- Managed Schemes
The National Supa Cover Scheme covers all members registered as Self-Employed and employees of companies that are not in the managed schemes. Members in the National Supa Cover can access services from Category A and some of Category B hospitals.
The managed scheme covers persons whose employer has negotiated an additional enhanced package than that of the National Scheme. It covers mostly civil servants, The National Police & Prison Services, Government Parastatals, County Governments & former members of parliaments. It is not a constant factor that all members in the fore-mentioned access the same services. In some cases, it varies by job group. Members in Managed Schemes can access services in any of Category A, B & C hospitals.
More information about NHIF can be accessed from their main website here
NHIF Registration
To use NHIF cover individuals have to first register with NHIF. All Kenyans above the age of 18 years are eligible for registration.
A person can register with NHIF as either a Self-Employed or as an Employed Member.
Self-Employed Registration.
One can register with NHIF online from NHIF Website or by Visiting the NHIF branch office.
Online Registration can be done from the following website URL https://nhif.kenyaweb.com/~nhiforc/healthinsurance/registeronline/
You will be required to upload a clear photo of the National Identity Card and a Clear passport photo. After submitting the form, the system will generate your NHIF registration number.
To register as a Self-employed from NHIF offices, the following documents are required:
- A copy of ID
- A coloured passport-sized photo
- A copy of the spouse’s ID if applying for a family cover
- Sworn affidavit or marriage certificate if adding a spouse
- Copy of birth certificates (or birth notification for children below 6 months) if one is adding children
- Coloured passport-sized photo of spouse and children
- Ksh 1,500 as payment for the first registration which will cover one for three months. Afterwards, one is required to pay KES 500 monthly to avoid penalties.
Often most people register as self-employed to get NHIF card when looking for jobs since one requirement for most jobs is an NHIF Card.
After registering one is required to remit Ksh 500 per month by the 9th of every month.
Registration as an Employed Member
Where one is employed and is not an NHIF member, to get registered NHIF will require a letter from your employer introducing you as their employee. When you get registered as an employed member, you will not be required to pay the contributions on registration, rather your employer will be deducting and remitting to NHIF every month
NHIF Employer Registration
Any institution engaging in employment is required to register with NHIF. When a company is registered it is required to register with KRA for taxes, NHIF for employee’s medical cover and NSSF for an employee retirement benefit.
To register for NHIF as an employer, the following documents are required:
- Authorization letter on Employer LetterHead
- Dully filled, signed and stamped Employer Registration Form.
- Certificate of Registration
- CR12 for Companies or CR13 for Sole-Proprietorship and Partnerships.
- KRA PIN
- For Companies, Registration CR documents or Articles, and Memorandum of Association.
After registration, an employer is allocated an Employer Code number that the employer will be using to remit all NHIF deductions.
Where a company has not yet engaged in formally employing staff, it should register with NHIF and have its directors as employees to avoid penalties later when they start engaging in employment.
Get Help with NHIF Employer Registration
Updating NHIF Member Account
After registering for NHIF you can amend to update your NHIF account information, for instance when you amend to. add a dependant as a beneficiary or change the outpatient Hospital Amendment form
Adding a Dependent on NHIF Cover.
You can add a dependent on your NHIF Cover for them to access health services using your NHIF Card, by filing a form at the NHIF branch office and attaching the relevant documents.
To add children under the age of 18 years the required document is copies of their birth certificate or birth notification for children under the age of 6 months.
To add a spouse, a copy of your spouse ID, a marriage certificate or an affidavit where you don’t have a marriage certificate will be required.
Choosing out-patient Hospital
After registering for NHIF you can access medical services from only selected NHIF-accredited hospitals for Out-Patient Services, this is where the condition does not require a patient to be admitted to the hospital.
You can only choose one outpatient facility, NHIF encourages one to choose an outpatient facility that is near to them. However, you can have your dependents choose different facilities.
Changing the selected NHIF hospital can be done once per quarter for members under NHIF Supa Cover, while those under the managed scheme can only change the facility twice a year.
Checking NHIF Contributions Status
A member can check their NHIF contribution status from NHIF App, via USSD by dialling *155# and, by SMS by Sending a text message with the format [ID {space} Your ID Number] e.g. (ID 12345678) to 1550
How to Remit and Pay NHIF Contributions
Members are required to remit NHIF monthly, the remittance of NHIF contributions depends on whether it’s being done by self-employed paying for themselves or Employed members being remitted for by their employer.
How to pay NHIF Contributions via Mpesa
Self-employed members can pay NHIF via M-pesa through paybill:
NHIF Mpesa Paybill 200222.
Enter your National ID as the Account Number.
Enter KES 500 for every month you wish to pay for or KES 6,000 if you wish to pay for the whole year Enter your PIN Number.
* Note that you are supposed to use your ID Number and not your Member Number
Employers NHIF Contribution Remittance
Institutions registered as Employers with NHIF have to file NHIF statutory deductions online from the NHIF portal.
They are required to submit a byproduct file that contains the names of employees, the ID number, their NHIF number and the amount deducted for NHIF.
For employed members, the amount contributed is based on prescribed NHIF rates that are based on the employee’s salary scale.
| Salary Bracket in Ksh | Monthly Contribution in Ksh |
| 0 – 5,999 | 150 |
| 6,000 – 7,999 | 300 |
| 8,000 – 11,999 | 400 |
| 12,000 – 14,999 | 500 |
| 15,000 – 19,999 | 600 |
| 20,000 – 24,999 | 750 |
| 25,000 – 29,999 | 850 |
| 30,000 – 34,999 | 900 |
| 35,000 – 39,000 | 950 |
| 40,000 – 44,999 | 1,000 |
| 45,000 – 49,000 | 1,100 |
| 50,000 – 59,999 | 1,200 |
| 60,000 – 69,999 | 1,300 |
| 70,000 – 79,999 | 1,400 |
| 80,000 – 89,999 | 1,500 |
| 90,000 – 99,999 | 1,600 |
| 100,000 and Above | 1,700 |
| Self Employed (Special Type) | 500 |
The due date for paying NHIF
Members are required to remit and pay NHIF contributions by the 9th of every month. This applies to self-employed members and employers.
NHIF Penalties
Failure to pay NHIF by the 9th attracts a penalty of 50% of the amount due per month. Members whose payment is defaulted cannot access medical services using their NHIF Card. When a member defaults payment for more than 12 months, they are treated as new entrants to the scheme. To re-activate their membership they have to reactivate the NHIF card by paying KES 1,500 which is three months’ contributions. One will then have to wait for 2 months (60 days) from the date of payment to start using their card
Payment of NHIF Penalties
If a member has defaulted to remit payment by the 9th, self-employed persons can pay penalties via M-pesa using the following procedures:
• Use NHIF Mpesa Paybill Number 200222
• Use the National ID and the letter ‘y’ at the end of the ID as the Account Number.
• Enter KES 250 for every month defaulted e.g. if you have defaulted for 4 months enter KES 1,000 as the amount.
Payment of NHIF Penalties for Employer
Where a company with an employer code has defaulted paying by the 9th, the penalty is double the amount due. To pay for penalties the employer has to visit the NHIF branch for them to raise an assessment of the penalty due in form of a demand letter with instructions on how to pay at the bank.
NHIF Compliance Certificate for Employers (Companies)
A company that has complied with the NHIF Act in remitting and paying NHIF on time can request or an NHIF Compliance Certificate.
It is important that a company have an updated current NHIF compliance certificate. It is now a requirement to have NHIF compliance while bidding for government tenders.
The certificate is issued for a period of 3 months after which it can be renewed. Check how to get an NHIF Compliance Certificate here
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