SHA runs into funding crisis, gov't says only 3M out of 19M Kenyans making contributions

At a weekly briefing outside Afya House on Wednesday, Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Deborah Barasa and Director General of Health Dr Patrick Amoth highlighted the financial troubles at the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

According to health officials, the main issue is Kenyans' contributions to a scheme meant to offer medical services to all. Out of the 19.4 million Kenyans registered on SHA, only 3.3 million are contributing to the scheme.

Although 19.4 million Kenyans are officially registered in the program, only 3.3 million people are actually contributing to the scheme.

"Health services are expensive and we cannot only have those in formal employment bearing the burden of the rest of the Kenyan population. We appeal to all those who have registered to ensure that they go through the means testing process, generate their premiums, and actually commit to paying for that,” said Amoth.

Amoth added that the failure of Kenyans to make contributions is causing disruptions in services and urged all Kenyans to share the responsibility.

"We appeal to counties to ensure more Kenyans register for SHA, with arid and semi-arid areas leading in low registration,” he said.

In its pursuit of providing more inclusive and responsive healthcare to Kenyans, following complaints about system glitches and tariffs, the Ministry of Health has established the Benefits Package and Tariffs Advisory Panel, which will be based at the University of Nairobi. The panel will, among other roles, review the benefits package.

"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. Their mandate includes reviewing and recommending benefits packages to ensure comprehensive review,” CS Barasa said.

According to the Ministry of Health, 8,813 out of 17,755 health facilities, representing 56 percent, have enrolled with SHA.

Over one million Kenyans have accessed primary healthcare services since October 2024. In reducing pre-authorization time, which was one of the key challenges, Barasa says processing time for pre-authorization requests has reduced from 10 hours to about 1 hour 15 minutes.