The National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei has admitted challenges in the new health insurance model.

Speaking during a morning TV show on Monday, November 18, 2024, Shollei observed that the new model had a mixed bag of great policies and some in need of improvements.

“We see some things that are not right with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). For example, the capitation of Ksh 900 per family is not enough even for one hospital visit,” Shollei said, “Another challenge that I noticed is that girls who are under 18 years of age are not covered when they go to hospitals for delivery, yet they are usually the ones who need cesarian section because their bodies are not fully developed.”

SHA has run into various challenges since its rollout on October 1, 2024, with various stakeholders voicing their opposition to it.

Shollei, however, notes that the case of SHA is not all doom and gloom, noting that some of the challenges of the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) had been sorted by the new body.

Rosy side

“I personally have 3,000 people who are on SHIF paid by me. I have evaluated this SHIF and, yes, there are some good things I have picked up. For example, all expensive procedures will be covered, while NHIF had a cap. Also, it used to take a week to get approvals but now it takes two hours,” Shollei added.

The problems at the SHA came to a head on November 12, 2024, when the board of the health authority kicked out SHA acting CEO Elijah Wachira and launched investigations into his conduct while at the helm of the body.

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli, who sits on the 12-member SHA board, has been at the forefront in urging Kenyans to endure the challenges that the new authority is facing with the promise of better services.

Resign

Atwoli went ahead to promise that he would not hesitate to resign if any cent of the public money was to be lost in the scheme.

During an interview on Friday, November 15, 2024, Atwoli said that he would resign from the SHA board if any money was to be lost fraudulently.

“I will ensure that every single cent coming into the SHA goes where it is intended to go. No single cent will go astray when I am on that board. If it happens, I will resign,” Atwoli stated.