Church leaders led by the Nation Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) chairman Bishop Alphonso Kanga have rejected the ongoing Social Health Authority (SHA) rollout, challenging the government to prioritize Kenyans over soliciting more money.
Their concerns about the new health insurance fund have been raised by cases of Kenyans being forced to pay out of their pockets despite paying for the insurance for services that were previously fully covered under the previous health insurance fund, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
NCCK, which precedes medical facilities run by faith-based organizations delivered its prognosis a month after the SHA rollout.
The church leaders have challenged the government to go back to NHIF as they review SHA and ensure it's completely working before it fully takes over.
According to the leaders, SHA and SHIF were hurriedly rolled out, and this was evident by the numerous complaints made by Kenyans.
"It does not make sense to us that Kenyans are now paying more money but are getting fewer benefits, we are moving from okay to worse," Bishop Kanga revealed.
Nyeri Diosis Archbishop Antony Muheria also reiterated NCCK sentiments saying that what is happening in SHIF contradicts every aspect of upholding human rights.
"With the shift from NHIF to SHIF, we don't seem to have had that thought of the sick, people who die because they can't get services that's our main concern, Muheria stated.
"If the common man is not fully attended to according to his or her needs, how can we convince our members that the SHIF is working," Bishop Joseph Ngige of AIPCA reiterated.
CHAK, which covers Protestant church organizations, says it has registered 563 faith-based health facilities, including 53 centers, 23 hospitals, 381 dispensaries, 64 church organizations, 26 church programs, and 16 medical training colleges and universities.
The Ministry of Health has dismissed calls for a review of the SHIF insisting that the system works. Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has alleged that those finding fault with SHA and SHIF are misinformed.
"Regarding the stranded patients, we are requesting that they can reach out through the call center to SHA and each individual case will be addressed accordingly," Barasa stated while preceding the graduation of specialized nurses at the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital (KNH) on Friday.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto continued to champion SHIF alleging that the government is planning to ensure that it has enough money to ensure that all Kenyans get medical attention without being asked for any cash.
