Days after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said that thousands of teachers in the country cannot access medical care through the Social Health Authority (SHA), the Ministry of Health has clarified that all teachers in the country are eligible for the government-backed medical scheme.
In a statement on Saturday, April 27, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said that teachers and their dependents can access medical care under the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Emergency, Critical, and Chronic Illness Fund (ECCIF).
"All teachers and their dependents are eligible for the Social Health Authority (SHA) benefits package under the three funds, i.e., Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and Emergency, Critical & Chronic Illness Fund (ECCIF,) like any other Kenyan who is registered and contributing," he stated.
Duale further clarified that teachers' employers in the country have the right to provide complementary medical insurance for teachers, which is not under the control of the SHA.
The CS has further said that the commission can opt to enroll its employees in the Public Officer Medical Scheme Fund, which they will need to determine the complementary benefits depending on the commission's budget.
"Employers such as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) can provide complementary insurance for their employees for additional benefits through a valid insurance underwriter," he stated.
"The Social Health Authority does not manage the TSC's complimentary medical cover, which they got from a private insurance provider," he stated.
The response from Duale comes two days after Nancy Macharia, the CEO of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), spoke before the National Assembly on Thursday, April 24, and claimed that the Authority declined to onboard over 360,000 teachers.
According to Macharia, the authority claimed that it lacked sufficient infrastructure across the country to enroll the teachers and that it needed Ksh37 billion to erect the necessary structures.
"Last year, when we had issues with Minet, we wanted to move our teachers to SHA. We have always wanted to have our teachers under the national insurer, even during the NHIF days," she stated.
“We held a meeting with SHA before renewing our contract with Minet for this final year, and they told us they didn’t have enough structures. They said they would need Ksh.37 billion to enrol our teachers, but even then, they were not ready to take them on this year,” she added.
So far, according to Duale, the insurer has registered a total of 21.6 million Kenyans and has also contracted more than 8,000 facilities nationwide.
