The Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has told the newly appointed Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale that lowering Social Health Authority (SHA) premiums for Kenyans is the only way he can succeed in the health docket.
The CS had visited the Ministry of Health headquarters for familiarization when he alleged that the Ministry was derailing due to cartels and tycoons who benefitted from the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) rejecting SHA.
However, RUPHA was not appeased by Duale's sentiments, claiming the starting point for SHA to work is to dismantle the cartels.
Duale is the third Cabinet Secretary to handle the sector since President Ruto took over. The first CS under Ruto was Susan Nakhumicha, then Deborah Mulongo, and now Aden Duale, who is believed to have come to save it from its struggles.
According to RUPHA, if Duale wants to thrive in the sector, then he must shun the tactics that were used by his predecessors and instead focus on SHA, a robust IT framework, pay hospitals sufficiently and on time, and improve the benefits package for contributors.
Currently, SHA premiums are calculated as 2.75 per cent of an individual's gross salary, with a minimum contribution of Ksh300 per month.
"Dear Duale, resist the temptation to continue with the same talking points that have prevented your predecessors from achieving much," read the warning from RUPHA.
In his presser after the familiarization tour, Duale advised Kenyans to stop rejecting SHA and instead embrace it because it had streamlined the sector.
"Those who are making noise about SHA are cartels and tycoons. Every day, I watch the news, and the common currency is the Ksh30 billion NHIF bill. Mark my words today, the day SHA takes root, 60 per cent of the many clinics you see in estates will close. Most hospitals that you thought were doing good work were open because of the fraud that was taking place in NHIF,'' Duale said, sentiments that RUPHA opposes.
According to RUPHA, leaders with such populist remarks do not thrive in the ministry. They argue that the Ministry values practical, evidence-based approaches to healthcare challenges rather than superficial or politically motivated claims.
"The Ministry of Health gives no marks for populist talking points," RUPHA advised.
The Ministry of Health faces a myriad of challenges, including a contested universal health care system, unpaid medical workers, and underfunded hospitals, which continue to cripple the success of the Ministry.
