President William Ruto has directed all Level 1 to Level 4 hospitals across the country to offer free healthcare to Kenyans who have already registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking in Embu on Sunday, June 6, the head of state claimed that the government has already disbursed money, which will cover the cost of healthcare for all registered Kenyans who seek services in these facilities.
Ruto has said that anyone who is charged at these facilities should immediately report them to the government, through the call centre 147.
Additionally, the president has affirmed that the government, led by the Ministry of Health, will not backpedal in its crackdown on fraudulent health facilities and doctors who are overcharging patients through the medical scheme.
"When you register with the authority, you should go to all hospitals at levels one to four, where you should not be charged anything. No one should ask you for anything, because we have already budgeted and disbursed the funds to hospitals, and we have directed them not to demand money from anyone," Ruto said.
"There are some hospitals that still ask for small amounts, such as Ksh200 and Ksh100. I want to tell Kenyans that before you make these payments, make sure that you tell us so that we can deal with them properly. We have already closed some hospitals because they are overcharging and lying to us," he added.
The president stressed the need for Kenyans to register with SHA, which is one of his signature projects, to ensure that the country achieves its universal health coverage (UHC) goal.
Furthermore, Ruto claimed that the government will also audit and compile the average number of patients at all hospital levels across the country, once the registration of the SHA is complete, to ensure seamless healthcare services in hospitals.
Ruto asserted that auditing the average number of patients who visit a particular hospital will ensure that the government distributes enough medication, equipment, and medical personnel, depending on the number of people who visit the hospital for treatment.
The president claimed that the government has yet to insert complete data into its systems on how many people on average seek healthcare at a particular facility, a factor that has severely dented its ability to provide sufficient resources to healthcare facilities.
"I want people to listen to me carefully. Every one of us will be needed to register with SHA, because after the people have registered, we will audit hospitals and dispensaries to know how many people get healthcare there on average. After this, we will ensure that there are enough medicines, equipment, and doctors," the president said.
"Most of the time, when people go to the hospital, there are not enough medicines, and this is because we have not yet had a mechanism to insert data on the exact number of people because some have not yet registered," he added.
As of Monday, June 16, 23 million Kenyans have enrolled with SHA, according to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale. Additionally, the health boss confirmed that SHA had contracted 9,365 healthcare facilities, comprising 5,219 public, 3,650 private, and 496 faith-based institutions.
"As of today, 16th June 2025, 12:30 pm, 23,674,672 Kenyans have enrolled in TaifaCare, with 28,679 new registrations so far today. Additionally, 5,483,160 Kenyans have undergone Means Testing to determine their premium contributions," Duale said in a statement on Monday, June 16.
