ROLE OF MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER ON THE RATE OF PREMIUM REMITTANCE OF HEALTH INSURANCE FROM SELF-EMPLOYED NHIF MEMBERS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF NHIF MERU BRANCH

Lydia Kagwiria Kirika

Abstract


National health insurance is health insurance that insures a national population for the costs of health care and usually is instituted as a program of healthcare reform. In Kenya, the only National Health Insurance Fund is the NHIF. The study’s specific objectives are; To establish the influence of transaction cost on premium remittance, to determine if convenience of using M-Pesa influence the collection of contribution payments, to determine the influence of level of premium and collection mechanisms on the rate of collection of premium payments, and to determine if accessibility of mobile money services influence the collection of contribution premium payments to the NHIF a case study of NHIF Meru branch. The Kenya National Health Insurance Fund has deploying the use of mobile payments to enhance the quality of their services and increase growth. In this study, a survey research design technique was used to collect data which involved the use of both primary and secondary data sources. Structured questionnaires are used to collect primary data. The target population consist of 70 informal sector members who include the self-employed and unemployed members of NHIF particularly residents of Meru county. A sample size of 35 respondents from Meru town in Meru County is drawn. The study established that mobile money had made a significant contribution to the way the NHIF members from the informal sector make their monthly premium remittance. Majority of the NHIF members from informal sector rely on it as opposed to the formal sector for their monthly premium remittance. Thus, this study achieved its objectives and obtained detailed information arising from the use of mobile money services by NHIF members. In respect to the conceptual framework, mobile money transactional costs, convenience and financial accessibility have all been shown to affect prompt premium remittance through the service leading to increased enrolment in mobile money services therefore leading to low rate of NHIF defaulters.

 

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mobile money transfer, health insurance, self-employed NHIF members, Kenya

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v0i0.370

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