- The shift from NHIF to the Social Health Authority (SHA) was touted as the cornerstone of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that came with a promise to ensure every Kenyan, irrespective of social class, had access to quality healthcare.
On October 1, 2024, Kenya welcomed a new Health Insurance model. In this regard, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) transitioned to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
The shift from NHIF to the Social Health Authority (SHA) was touted as the cornerstone of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that came with a promise to ensure every Kenyan, irrespective of social class, had access to quality healthcare.
The government affirmed that the shift was a remedy to the fraud that had plagued the defunct NHIF.
Additionally, SHA was operationalised to handle three funds (member contributions, primary healthcare fund, and emergency, chronic and critical illness fund) rather than the one NHIF member contributions fund.
However, this dream of accessible healthcare has yet to become a reality, as the beam of hope has since opened up too big a can of worms, revealing inefficiencies, delays, and further heartbreaking stories of a dysfunctional healthcare system.
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The former NHIF Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Geoffrey Mwangi, has attributed this derailment in SHA’s efficiency to a reduced confidence in the new system.
He has underscored that for Kenyans to contribute to the system regularly, there needs to be a buildup of trust by ensuring the system is efficient at healthcare provider institutions nationwide.
“When people lose trust, they stop paying. Because we had so many people coming on board to make contributions through NHIF. You cannot police this system or police the people to pay. They need to have the will to pay. And when people stop paying, you lose revenue hence an inadequacy in running the kitty,” Geoffrey stated.
Mr Mwangi has also noted that SHA should be able to cater to healthcare services, citing a 2016-2018 strategic plan for NHIF formulated during his tenure as CEO.
“In our strategic plan 2016 to 2018, by 2022, NHIF should have been rolling over Ksh150 billion in revenue. So, in 2025, our population and economy have expanded, therefore, there should be enough money to run our health services,” he noted.
By dint of public uproar that surrounded the transition, the former CEO has expressed misplaced faith in the management of the process by the Kenya Kwanza Administration, saying, “the biggest challenge was how the implementation process was conducted. The changeover has not been good and it is imperative we come out and agree that it has not been proper and that it can be done better.”
The former NHIF boss has further emphasised the need to secure the trust of healthcare providers in ensuring the productivity of SHA in delivering universal healthcare services.
“Firstly, we need to get the trust of Kenyans to own it, then gain the trust of healthcare providers and get a willing government to put in its share of premiums, we are good and done,” he concluded.
This comes when the Ministry of Health has confirmed that over 22 million Kenyans have registered with SHA, with 24 million already enrolled in Taifa Care under SHA, and 5.4 million already accessing healthcare services through the Primary Health Care Fund.
