MPs lament gaps in SHA services, blame MoH for failing health sector

The legislators spoke on Citizen TV's Daybreak show on Monday lamenting the stale structure the Social Health Authority (SHA) operates under at the expense of denying Kenyans quality healthcare.

Belgut MP Nelson Koech opined that the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the leadership at SHA should be faulted for the mishap, arguing that they are failing at their job for failing to address the matter. 

"I want to blame the Ministry of Health. We should not be sitting here every Monday trying to crack something that the acting Director General should be explaining to the population," he said.

"We cannot be in a situation where we are shooting blanks, we don't know what is going on."

His Gatanga counterpart Edward Muriu noted that Kenyans are being ripped off in the new healthcare system, adding that some Kenyans receive unequal packages while paying the same tax deduction rates.

Muriu believes the government should adopt the former system, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), as it irons out the existing obstacles.

"The complaint that has always been there is that the banding is wrong, outpatient is not covered, there is no value for money and the system is not working. If you're not getting your value for money you are getting robbed," noted Muriu.

"Let's go back to the old system, stop charging 2.75% and then plan properly."

On his part, Kathiani MP Robert Mbui said SHIF is largely crippled by its hurried rollout, turning a blind eye to its hazy structure on transforming the healthcare system. 

"The system that is still shrouded in secrecy is failing. The whole thing is basically a mess and it is very unfortunate and people are very unhappy," he said.

The National Assembly Health Committee has been tasked with fixing SHA as Kenyans continue to raise concerns over the limited access to healthcare.

The SHA insurance scheme has faced backlash from leaders and members of the public, who fault the inefficiency of the scheme in settling medical costs for patients. 

In late December 2025, lawmakers questioned whether SHA, a supposedly semi-autonomous body, was being overshadowed by interference from MoH. 

"When we created SHA, we did not intend for the Ministry to run it. The authority must prove it has the capacity to manage its own affairs," said Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah at a past event.