The government is set to cater for the registration of 1.5 million Kenyans with the Social Health Authority from next week, President William Ruto has announced.
In a brief statement released by the Head of Special Projects and Creative Economy at the Executive Office of the President, Dennis Itumbi, the government had already identified the select group of Kenyans set to benefit from the government’s directive.
“We have identified 1.5 million Kenyans who cannot afford the SHA registration fee,” he stated.
“The government will cover the cost for all of them and payment mechanisms will begin next week,” Itumbi noted.
Typically, when signing up for SHA, one is not required to pay. However, to enjoy the benefits of the health insurance programme, one has to provide a minimum fee of Ksh300 per month. This is to be paid in the form of a one-off annual payment, translating to Ksh3,600.
The announcement, issued on Tuesday, September 2, comes days after Ruto disclosed that the government would pay SHA contributions for needy Kenyans.
At the time, Ruto did not provide a timeline of when this would happen, adding that the government would use a strict identification process to shortlist the beneficiaries.
As per Ruto, the move was made possible through what he described as the ‘equitable’ collection of the mandatory 2.75 per cent SHA contributions from Kenyans. This had enabled the government to set aside enough funds to cater for those who could not afford it.
Ruto’s directive comes after he directed all Level 1 to Level 4 hospitals across the country to offer free healthcare to Kenyans who have already registered with 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 had said that anyone who is charged at these facilities should immediately report them to the government through the call centre 147.
"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.
