What Is A Teachers Medical Scheme And Why Should Teachers Have It?

Kenya has over 500,000 teachers. The majority of teachers in Kenya are employed by the government through the Teachers Service Commission. The rest of the teachers are employed either by the Board of Management (BOM) in public schools or by private schools.

All teachers in Kenya, whether employed by the government, BOM, or by private schools are supposed to be registered with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and issued with a TSC number.

To help teachers under its fold have a health cover and when they become sick or their families, TSC came up with the Teachers Medical Scheme that has over 300,000 teachers under it.

The Teachers Medical Scheme, according to Minet Kenya, is a comprehensive medical cover for over 300,000 primary and high school teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission across the country, and their dependents.

The scheme offers outpatient, inpatient, dental, optical, maternity, group life (death in service benefit), and last expense benefits.

The word “comprehensive” suggests wide coverage. Comprehensive medical insurance covers a spectrum of services such as X-rays, emergency room visits, lab work, and physician visits. Some policies also cover the cost of prescription drugs.

Not all comprehensive health insurance policies are the same. For example, one comprehensive policy might cover the cost of preventive care while another doesn’t. And the costs associated with comprehensive medical insurance vary from policy to policy.

A comprehensive medical cover requires the insured to pay a co-pay. With this medical scheme, it is a co-pay of 50ksh for outpatient, dental and optical services.

Minet is the overall administrator of the Teachers Medical Scheme overseeing its effective implementation by accredited service providers for the benefit of registered teachers and their dependents.

“We only talk about teachers when maybe they are on strike, or the school has done well in exams or when kids fail in exams. We rarely talk about their health and this scheme is helpful,” says Mr. Kutosi, a primary school teacher.