Police, CIC-Led Consortium Fixing Medical Scheme Hitches – Spokesperson

National Police Service says it is working closely with consortium of insurers tasked with providing medical cover for police to resolve the current service accessibility challenges.

NPS Spokesperson Dr. Resila Onyango gave the assurance on Monday when she talked to Capital FM.

Her remarks come amidst complaints from a section of officers who have claimed that the new medical scheme is limited to a few hospitals, making it challenging for them to access medical care

The consortium including CIC, Old Mutual and Brita, was awarded the tender to provide medical cover for police officers after the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) lost a bid to offer health insurance to police officers.

NHIF, which had provided medical cover to the Police Service for close to eight years, lost the tender to the consortium on December 16, 2022.

Resila said the NPS is well aware of the challenges and is doing whatever it takes to address them.

"Those challenges that the officers are raising, we (NPS) are receiving them very positively as the hierarchy and we are working very closely from the police headquarters with the CIC Consortium to alleviate the challenges of the officers," she said.

Welfare reforms

Onyango emphasized that the introduction of the medical cover was part of police reforms aimed at reducing stress and pressure and ensuring that security officers are attended to quickly and in a dignified manner.

She pointed out that the NPS is committed to improving the the welfare of police officers across the country.

On January 17, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) urged officers to be patient during registration into their new insurance after moving from the NHIF scheme.

NPSC Chairperson Eliud Kinuthia said the process takes a while and to process their information hence the need for patience.

"These are new changes that have happened this month and the process of registration for police officers digitally is ongoing," he said, explaining that "there could be challenges of delays in the system but we ask the police officers to be patient with the system."

Kinuthia said the decision to move from NHIF was prompted by challenges officers were experiencing in accessing some of the hospitals listed under the insurer.

Under the new scheme, CIC General Limited will provide medical insurance while Britam will provide group personal accident cover.