Kenya Govt returns to the drawing board as SHA contributions collpase

Written by Peter Magoma

With distressing headlines of patients dying, delayed treatment, and the imminent collapse of some health facilities, the government now wants to review its health insurance reforms, which may radically alter the social health authority program (SHA).

Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa says the government has put together a team of experts to review the reforms to address mounting challenges including a huge drop in contributions that has created a budget crisis.

The government is proposing to give informal workers loan facilities under the Hustler Fund to provide Insurance Premium Financing (IPD) to finance social health insurance insurance(SHIF) contributions.

The new reforms will re-classify Kenyans according to their incomes to identify those who will gain from these loans while aiming to increase insurance payouts to make the program attractive.

“The Ministry of Health has decided to develop a critical advisory board to guide decisions around the health insurance system based at the University of Nairobi. The panel will serve as a critical advisory body to guide decisions around the social health program. The panel brings together experts in health economics epidemiology, actuarial science, and health sciences. The mandate of the panel includes reviewing and recommending benefits packages to ensure a comprehensive review,” CS Barasa said.

Failed reforms

The advisory body is expected to review health benefits and to come up with a more inclusive and comprehensive health care package which will enable speedy and reliable treatment to all Kenyans across different parts of the country.

The October 2024 transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the social health insurance insurance(SHIF) has been anything but smooth.

According to the Ministry of Health, only 3.3 million people are contributing to the scheme despite the 19.4 million Kenyans that are currently enrolled in the Social Health Authority program leading to disruptions inthe provision of health services.

They stated that 8,813 out off of 17,755 health facilities have enrolled in the program representing 56 percent where over one million Kenyans have accessed primary healthcare services since implementation.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday the director general of health Dr. Patrick Amoth highlighted the financial problems appealing to those who have registered to go through the means testing process and commit to paying to ensure smooth operation of the program.

Amoth further appealed to the county governments to ensure more Kenyans register for (SHA) citing the low number of registrations in Northern arid areas and urging all Kenyans to share responsibility.