For many decades after independence, the Kenyan government ensured a vigorous pursuit of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) coverage to those in formal employment and generally pursued a policy of laissez-faire as far as access to health insurance is concerned to those in the informal sector. At its inception, the NHIF, a social insurance scheme, was to assist government employees to gain access to higher quality private hospitals, thereby relieving congestion in the free public hospita...
