Checking for National Hospital Insurance Fund or NHIF status online or by whichever means is one of the commonly sought hacks online. NHIF is a government established medical insurance scheme which was launched back in 1966. For civil servants, various jobs are exposed to uncertainties thus necessitating the establishment of the body.
The major purpose of starting the scheme is to improve the healthcare of the citizens in the country whether employed or unemployed.
The unemployed citizens have and those in private sectors have an option to join the scheme. A fixed rate of Kshs. 500 is to be contributed monthly. For the civil servants, the NHIF payment is a fixed percentage. These payments are computed as a ratio of the net pay and deducted.
Every civil servant must register with NHIF. On registration, monthly contributions are deducted on Check-off system basis. The following are NHIF rates on various salary categories in Kenya.
| Salary Range |
Monthly Contribution |
| Ksh. 0 – 5999 | Ksh. 130 |
| Ksh. 6,000 – 7,999 | Ksh. 300 |
| Ksh. 8,000 – 11,999 | Ksh. 400 |
| Ksh. 12,000 – 14,599 | Ksh. 500 |
| Ksh. 15,000 – 19,999 | Ksh. 600 |
| Ksh. 20,000 – 24,999 | Ksh. 750 |
| Ksh. 30,000 – 34,999 | Ksh. 850 |
| Ksh. 35,000 – 39,000 | Ksh. 950 |
| Ksh. 40,000 – 44,999 | Ksh. 1,000 |
| Ksh. 45,000 – 49,000 | Ksh. 1,100 |
| Ksh. 50,000 – 59,999 | Ksh. 1,200 |
| Ksh. 60,000 – 69,999 | Ksh. 1,300 |
| Ksh. 70,000 – 79,999 | Ksh. 1,400 |
| Ksh. 80,000 – 89,999 | Ksh. 1,500 |
| Ksh. 90,000 – 99,999 | Ksh. 1,600 |
| Ksh. 100,000 and above | Ksh. 1,700 |
| Self-employed/Unemployed | Ksh. 500 |
NB: The above rates were came up with in the year 2017 and they are still applicable today.
Nowadays, life is easy in that there is no need to travel, visit NHIF offices to get account management services. All you need is a smartphone that has the ability to access internet connection.
How to check NHIF account status on the website
- Login to the NHIF official website
- Register to get an account
- Create a password that you will be using anytime you login to the portal
- After logging in, you can be able to check NHIF account status online
Note that: During registration, ensure you have NHIF card number, valid email address and an operational phone number.
How to check NHIF account status using a mobile phone
- Proceed to main menu of your phone
- Create a message as follows ‘ID 12345678’ where the umber 12345678 is your government issued Identity Card Number or passport number (if applicable)
- Send the message to the NHIF SMS Number 21101
- Your account status will be sent to you in an SMS.
Normal SMS rates will apply i.e. Sending the SMS will cost you Kshs. 10.
How to receive NHIF status via the email
This is the easiest method of checking the NHIF account status online. To use the email to check your status, use the customer care email care@nhif.or.ke and send any inquiry you would like to check on your account.
Apart from the highlighted payment option above, there are several other ways to make contributions to NHIF especially for unemployed people or for self-employed who would like to take the NHIF Medical cover.
How to make NHIF Payments using Mpesa
- Go to Mpesa menu on your device
- Go to Lipan a Mpesa
- Select Pay Bill option
- Enter the NHIF PayBill/Business Number 200222
- Enter your ID Number as your account number
- Enter the amount you would wish to pay as monthly contribution
- Key in your Mpesa PIN and click on send
- You should receive two messages acknowledging the status of the sent funds.
How to make NHIF Payments using Airtel Money
To use Airtel money, follow the following steps:
- Go to Airtel money menu
- Select ‘make payments’
- Go to pay bills
- Select ‘other’
- Key in NHIF Airtel Money PayBill number 823363
- Key in the amount you wish to pay as monthly contribution
- Enter your ID number as reference
- Click on ‘send’ and wait for a confirmation message from Airtel money
How to make NHIF Payments by Equitel Money
- Go to Equitel menu on ‘my money’
- Choose send/pay option
- Select bank account you wish to pay from
- Go to PayBill
- Select ‘to others’, then Mpesa to send money to Mpesa
- From Mpesa, you can now use the procedure highlighted above to make your NHIF contributions.
Note: The above payment methods charges different service fees depending on the service provider. You can check out Mpesa payment charges 2020 using this link
