Public Health PS explains why NHIF was a burden to Kenyans
By Steve Ireri, July 16, 2025Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni has faulted the now-abolished National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), claiming it was a long-standing burden to the majority of Kenyans due to its limited coverage and inequitable structure.
Speaking on Kameme TV on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the PS said the decision to shift to the new model was informed by the realisation that NHIF had been serving only a small fraction of the population while leaving millions behind.
According to Muthoni, NHIF was benefiting only a paltry 20 per cent of Kenya’s population, with the remaining 80 per cent excluded from its services due to employment status or income limitations.
She argued that only formally employed Kenyans had consistent access to NHIF benefits, creating a system that largely neglected informal workers and the unemployed.
“SHA came to benefit all Kenyans. NHIF was benefiting only a paltry 20 per cent of Kenyans. Only the employed used to enjoy it,” she said, referring to the estimated 11 million Kenyans out of a population of about 55 million who were actually using the scheme.
The PS attributed the transition to the provisions of the Social Health Insurance Financing Act, which she said laid the foundation for a new, broader health insurance structure under the SHA framework.
She stated that the rebranding to ‘Taifa Care’ was symbolic of an insurance system that, at least in principle, is designed for the public at large, rather than one tied to employment status.
“Not many people used to enjoy NHIF. Only the employed used to enjoy it. The Social Health Insurance Financing Act of 2023 is what brought SHA, and we are riding with the name Taifa Care because it is an insurance for the public,” she added, suggesting that the exclusionary nature of the former system had placed an unfair burden on the larger Kenyan population, who still struggled to access affordable healthcare.
While defending the shift to SHA, Muthoni made it clear that the NHIF structure had outlived its usefulness in the context of universal health access.
However, her remarks remain claims from a government perspective and come at a time when the public continues to question the practicality and sustainability of the new SHA framework.