Senior government economic advisor Moses Kuria has lashed out at a section of Kenyans opposed to the Social Health Authority (SHA), noting that even God could turn them away in the case that they die without being members of the health insurance.
Speaking in Mombasa County on Thursday, January 23, 2025, Kuria urged the residents to take up the health insurance proposed by the Kenya-Kwanza administration.
“Wakikataa, chukueni. Wengine wanasema ati hawatajiandikisha na SHA; ati Ruto must go.
“Mimi nawaambia: Ndio ata uweze kuona Ruto akienda, si ujiandikishe na SHA uwe na afya mzuri. Ukisema Ruto must go na hauko ndani ya SHA, ukifa si ata Mungu atakukataa?” Kuria stated.
SHA challenges
The Ministry of Health has been embroiled in unending hiccups in the transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) from October 1, 2024, leading to massive public outcry across the country.
However, the Ministry has maintained that the frequent instabilities of the health system will be a thing of the past following interventions put in place as backup.
The latest data from the Ministry of Health indicate that so far, 18.2 million Kenyans have registered with the Social Health Authority.
The Ministry further states that some 4.6 million Kenyans whose details have been transferred from NHIF should update their information on SHA.
Patient data
To address the long wait times experienced by customers seeking treatments in the various health facilities in the country, the Ministry said they had introduced the Health Information Exchange system in December 2024, and that sharing of patient data across hospitals will be seamless.
“We stress the critical need for principal beneficiaries to register their dependents to ensure full family coverage under SHA. Efforts are being intensified through CHPs and community engagement programs to raise awareness and encourage timely action,” The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
“Currently, a significant gap remains, as many dependents are only registered when they seek care at a facility. This practice leads to unnecessary delays, and we urge beneficiaries to update dependents proactively to streamline access to healthcare services.”
The Ministry equally noted that more than half of the health institutions in the country had been onboarded onto SHA and the number stood at 8,722 facilities.
The law requires every person in the country to register for SHA, including foreign residents who stay in the country for more than 12 months.
