Now police medical cover put on hold
What you need to know:
- Police have been told to ignore an earlier communication advising them to join the plan.
- This comes just weeks after officers had been asked to register for the massive cover.
A new generous medical insurance scheme for police officers will not start this month as scheduled.
Police have been told to ignore an earlier communication advising them to join the plan that would have given them benefits ranging from Sh8 million for juniors and 200 million for top commanders.
Police spokesperson Gatiria Mboroki termed it a “miscommunication” saying a separate scheme was being worked on for the National Police Service.
This comes just weeks after officers had been asked to register for the massive cover that is already adopted by the National Police Service Commission for its commissioners and staff.
“The medical cover for police will be tendered after Insurance companies expressed the will to take it up as a consortium, rather than individual firms because of the risks involved. The companies wanted to share the risks,” said Mr George Kirigwi, a senior officer at Inspector General’s office who is a member of a technical team working on the scheme.
Once in place, it will cater for nearly 80,000 officers as well as prison guards and officers. But police will have to wait longer, probably six months, before they can benefit from a new medical insurance that also covers their spouses and children.
Ms Mboroki told the Nation that a communication will be sent to all police officers advising them not to enlist in the NPSC cover, saying the earlier document was a mistake.
The document seen by the Nation on the scheme reads: “Members of the medical scheme are free to access any medical outlet as per the attached list whenever they and their dependants are in need of medical services. Please ensure all officers register accordingly once the insurance take effect on July 1, 2014.” It was signed by a senior police officer.
The NPSC entered into a contract with Heritage Insurance Company, which in turn contracted hospitals, clinics and medical specialists across Kenya after which a communication was sent to police units asking commanders to advise their juniors to register.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has allocated Sh1.6 billion for the health scheme.
