Recent developments, were within one week, parliament shot down the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) amendment bill, and the NHIF announced a plan to expand the benefit package it offers to civil servants under an enhanced scheme, Edwine Barasa, Director, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Nairobi Programme in this opinion piece chimes in with a view of the importance of early policy capture that protects the short-term gains of specific interest groups and undermines long-term gains that would benefit the larger society.