The Pain of Kenyan Teachers at the Hands of AON MINET Medical Scheme

Kenyan teachers are a frustrated lot and they feel their lives have been subjected and potentially endangered by the poor AON MINET Kenya medical insurance cover. Quality, accessible and affordable healthcare is a right to every Kenyan, and most importantly to teachers.

Concerned teachers whose lives are subjected to and endangered by the poor AON MINET Kenya medical insurance have written a petition to the senate to initiate the termination process of insurance medical cover issued between AON MINET and Teachers Service Commission.

In a petition to the senate seen by the Kenyan Herald, some of the glaring concerns raised include; Very low capitation on outpatient services e.g. some capped as low as Ksh. 900 inclusive of doctors consultation, tests and drugs; restrictions on the hospitals to visit of which some do not meet the threshold of a health facility.

Further, the teachers are crying that AON MINET takes ages to make approvals, and sometimes last up to one month, considering that this is about the lives of teachers.

In an elaborate scheme the teachers say is killing their morale, some contracted hospitals have turned away teachers insured by AON MINET because of challenges they face while seeking for claims.

It is even mind boggling when the insurance provider contract hospitals and medical facilities that clearly lack the threshold to offer medical services because of lack of personnel and drugs.

Some health facilities such as BLISS have been accused of operating intermittently between 8am and 5pm, and offering terrible outpatient services such as poor tests and diagnosis.

The same hospitals accused of poor services do not offer round the clock medical services thus teachers who fall ill at night fail to receive medical attention.

And with the curse of double deductions suffocating the teachers, they are wondering why both NHIF and AON MINET are significantly deducted from their salaries yet they do not receive quality services commensurate to the money chopped off their payslips monthly.

On dental services, the petitioners accuse AON MINET of covering only tooth extraction is catered for by AON MINET with other crucial services such as cleaning, refilling, root canalling, tooth replacement not being covered.

This is not the first time the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been accused of colluding with teacher aligned unions like Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), Kenya Women Teacher’s Association (KEWOTA), and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to orchestrate the oppression of teacher with poor medical insurance schemes.

Teachers expect some good service and profits with such amount going towards a certain medical scheme, but for them, it is one of the biggest nightmares for those who get the services.

Worse still, the services are unavailable in some parts of the country, forcing teachers to dig deeper into their pockets even after paying for medical insurance.

The petition now wants their employers Teachers Service Commission to urgently address these critical concerns even as schools are set to re-open on Monday after months of closure due to covid-19 pandemic.

Some teachers who spoke to the Kenyan Herald on condition of anonymity want TSC to revoke the AON MINET medical cover and as alternative, get teachers the NHIF comprehensive cover, similar to that enjoyed by civil servants.a

A sample of grievances from social media paints a sorry picture of how the insurer treats the teachers;

I just took an initiative to enquire whether Kisumu Specialist hospital accepts referrals by @Minet_Kenya, the response is they don't. Teachers were duped into these fake health insurance offered by insurance brokers. Teachers unions must petition for AON removal.#MinetMustGo pic.twitter.com/wYyPfaDYgE

— Mackxwell Rosengeri (@MRosengeri) June 12, 2020

#TeachersLivesMatters. No imaging centre that accepts this aon, and most of the cases are referals. You are required to pay cash for good radiology services while aon is receiving your 4000 medical allowance every month. Aon_minet is the worst thing that happened to teachers. pic.twitter.com/AuBywWuKZ9

— Wanjiru Kiguru (@KiguruWanjiru) June 9, 2020

If the government terminated some facilities that were supposed to treat students in our schools, why is @Minet_Kenya still forcing teachers to use them?
If the deduction to AON was well intended why was it removed from our payslips @TSC_KE #MinetMustGo pic.twitter.com/jttVmmb3d3

— Moses Ayier, MBA (@MosesAyier) June 10, 2020

The promises which @Minet_Kenya has given or will give are time buying tactics. History has it that AoN Minet never changes soon #MinetMustGo pic.twitter.com/Qoa2oqnFrM

— Moses Ayier, MBA (@MosesAyier) June 15, 2020

@Minet_Kenya Kenyan teachers are still crying and you can't listen. Look at the case below, he can't be attended by Aon accredited hospital in Rongo town @TSC_KE pic.twitter.com/z6eBKii9ar

— Elisha Otieno (@elishajkoti) June 14, 2020