President William Ruto has directed governors to ensure that all public health facilities are registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Ruto, who spoke when he met the county chiefs on Thursday, June 5, said the move will be critical in ensuring the facilities get timely government reimbursements under the medical scheme.
Ruto said that the governors should issue directives and lay out Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to their County Executive Committee members (CECs) and County Chief Officers to ensure that they facilitate the registration of these health facilities.
According to the president, the unregistered facilities have played a key role in denying people quality healthcare under the medical scheme.
We have so many public facilities that are yet to be registered, because if you look at the private facilities, most of them are registered. If you don't register your facility, you do not get the benefit of being given the money," he said.
"My request to Governors in instruct your CECs and COs and give them a KPI to ensure that any facility that is not registered is registered," he said.
The directive comes barely a week after the head of state, on Sunday, June 1, during the 62nd Madaraka Day celebrations, announced the introduction of a Lipa Polepole scheme for SHA, which will cater for Kenyans working in the informal sector.
The President said that the system will allow Kenyans to have an option of paying their yearly premiums in instalments or through a flexible payment plan, and will further enable families to make payments in instalments based on their preference.
''To address persistent challenges such as irregular premium payments, especially among the informal sector, the government of Kenya is introducing an inclusive payment solution known as lipa SHA polepole,'' Ruto said.
''This initiative will enable Kenyans to remit their annual SHA contributions through flexible, manageable instalments, whether monthly, weekly, or even daily, based on their financial abilities,'' he added.
The President's announcement came days after the World Bank, in a report released on Tuesday, May 27, called for a review of both the rollout and the approach to funding the programme.
The lender urged the government to exempt low-wage earners in the formal sector from SHIF contributions, in addition to fully funding the exempt low-wage earners in the formal sector from SHIF contributions.
As of May 13, 2025, over 22 million Kenyans have registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA), according to the Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Ouma Oluga.
