The Social Health Authority (SHA) has issued a formal compliance notice to all employers across the country as the number of new registrations for the healthcare model continues to soar.
In the notice issued on Wednesday, May 15, employers were reminded of their legal obligations under the Social Health Insurance Act (SHI) of 2023, which requires employers to register and enrol employees in the Social Health Insurance Fund and remit contributions.
More importantly, SHA reiterated that the directive applied to all employers, from the national government and the county government to the private sector.
Under section 27(1) of the Act, employers operating in Kenya are liable to contribute to the fund regardless of their sector of operation.
Employers are required to register their organisations via the SHA employer portal before enrolling all their employees. The employees' personal and dependent information also needs to be updated as a requirement to ensure accurate coverage.
In addition, the authority also clarified timelines for remittances, with employers required to remit monthly contributions on or before the 9th day of each month.
Section 27(6) of the SHI Act dictates that failure to do so could attract hefty penalties, equal to 2 per cent of the amount due for every period the contribution remains unpaid. This is in addition to the total annual contributions.
While the penalties may not be too much to deal with for larger companies, SHA also warned that non-compliance with the requirements was a prosecutable offence. Failure to remit contributions without a valid justification can attract a fine of up to Ksh2 million or imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
“We urge all organisations to ensure full compliance to protect their employees and contribute to a healthier, more resilient workforce, SHA said in its statement.
In terms of the number of Kenyans registered under SHA, the number has soared thanks to concerted efforts from the government combined with a tweak in the approach to get more Kenyans to enrol for the new scheme, which replaced the now-defunct NHIF.
On Monday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed that in the eight months since SHA was rolled out, 22 million Kenyans had registered under the scheme, including 18.5 million active registrations. 3.645 million of the 22 million under the SHA transitioned from NHIF.
Interestingly, Mombasa County leads in SHA registrations, with 58.4 per cent of its population registered. Bomet County follows, with Nyeri, Elgeyo Marakwet and Kirinyaga County coming in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively.
