How to check my NHIF status – Everything to know

‘How to check my NHIF status’ is what most of us search for after ‘missing’ a few months of NHIF monthly payments. Well, let’s get to know about your NHIF status.

About NHIF

The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is a Kenyan health insurance provider established in 1966 under the Ministry of Health. Its purpose is to ease the financial burden on Kenyans when receiving medical care. This is achieved through monthly payments from registered members that go toward the purpose of covering most, if not all of their medical bills when they get sick and visit NHIF-accredited hospitals seeking medical care.

Checking your NHIF account status

Registered members have an account with the insurance provider. By following certain procedures, the members can check the status of their accounts with the health insurance provider to know information such as;

1. Whether their insurance cover is currently active or not.
2. Monthly contributions they have missed/not paid.
3. Knowing and changing the hospital facility they have chosen to receive medical care from.
4. The number of dependents they have on their account. And much more.

There are two methods for checking the status of your NHIF account, both of which involve having an active phone number and a working mobile phone or laptop.

How to check NHIF status through SMS

1. Take out your phone and open your SMS messaging application.
2. Compose a new message with the receiver being the number 21101.
3. The message to type will be the word ‘ID’, followed by a space, by pressing the space bar, and your ID number or passport number. Example; ID 12345678.
4. Press send.

Note: Sending this message will cost you Ksh.20 of your airtime. So ensure your SIM card is topped up with enough airtime to be able to carry out this procedure.

5. You will immediately receive a text message containing the following information. Your NHIF membership number, your full names, your ID number, your Year of Birth (YOB), state of your monthly contributions (whether in arrears or not), the state of your insurance cover i.e whether you’re covered or not, and when you made your last contribution.

How to check NHIF status online

Members can also use the internet to access their account details in the ‘Self Care’ section of the NHIF website. Follow the steps below to do so.

1. Click on the self-care option from the NHIF website.
2. Type in your ID number in the box that appears and then click on Get One Time PIN. You will receive a text message on your mobile phone containing a One Time PIN (OTP).
3. Type the OTP in the page that appears and click on verify.
4. Once the login is successful, your NHIF account details will appear. All the information that is sent via SMS when checking your status via SMS is easily seen here.
5. On the top right corner of the page are three horizontal lines which when clicked have a list of options namely; dashboard, facilities, status, and support. Click on status to view further details of your NHIF account such as; the number of dependants you have, the amount of payment arrears (if any), penalties due (if any), among others.

On the website, you will also be able to choose or change the healthcare facility of your choice.