Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has dismissed claims that Hustler Fund defaulters will be locked out of coverage under the government health insurance scheme, Social Health Authority (SHA).
Duale issued a clarification on his X account on Monday, effectively contradicting Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, who offered a different take hours earlier.
“The information below is inaccurate. All Kenyans have a right to access SHA services regardless of their engagement with the hustler fund,” Duale clarified while referencing sentiments made by the spokesperson.
Earlier on Monday, Mwaura appeared in an interview on Radio 47 where he claimed that the Ksh6 billion disbursed by the government through the Hustler Fund was a huge investment that needed to be recovered.
Mwaura then courted controversy by suggesting that Hustler Fund defaulters would not access SHA services until their dues were paid.
“First, if you took the Hustler Fund and failed to pay, there are strategies to ensure you do not get the SHA benefits; six billion shillings is a lot of money,” Mwaura said.
For those who repaid their loans diligently, Mwaura said they would easily be able to remit their SHA deductions through using the Hustler Fund loan facility.
Earlier in June, the government rolled out a Lipa Pole Pole plan to enable Kenyans to use the Hustler Fund to pay their Social Health Authority (SHA) premiums.
Speaking at the 62nd Madaraka Day celebrations in Homa Bay, Ruto declared that Kenyans would now have the option to pay their yearly premiums in installments or through a flexible payment plan.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke confirmed that many citizens received SMS notifications outlining how to pay for SHA contributions through the Lipa Pole Pole option using the Hustler Fund.
With the SHA registration numbers growing by the day, Duale has been keen on streamlining the medical scheme to make it easily accessible to all Kenyans. Among the measures taken are crackdowns on various stakeholders, including hospitals abusing SHA funds.
On Monday, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Olunga also confirmed that the ministry has deployed Registration and Compliance Officers (RCOs) who will conduct door-to-door inspections to scrutinise employers' remittance compliance.
The team, according to the PS, will kickstart their inspections in Nairobi and then expand to Kiambu and Kajiado Counties before scaling up to the rest of the country in the next six months.
The ministry mandates every employer in the country to remit SHA deductions on the 9th of the month. According to Ouma, the ministry aims to recover Ksh21 billion owed by non-compliant employers across the country.
