The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union Secretary-General Davji Atellah clashed with the Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Mary Muthoni, over the implementation of the Social Health Authority (SHA).

In a statement on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Atellah questioned why the PS was advocating for the service on social media, noting that a working system did not need popularisation through hashtags.

“The testament of how effective SHA is should be in patients’ experiences, not social media posts. If it works, then it does not need hashtags. The complaints from the service providers, doctors, and patients are not a whimsical cry,” Atellah said.

This came after PS Mary Muthoni attempted to explain the benefits of the new health insurance system over the previous National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which had been in operation for over two decades.

In her illustration, Muthoni indicated that SHA provided various healthcare services, including access to primary healthcare and emergency healthcare for registered members.

Unlike the NHIF, registered members under the SHA can access emergency healthcare and primary healthcare even without having an up-to-date monthly payment for outpatient services.

SHA also includes the emergency, chronic, and critical illness fund, which covers the registered and paid-up members.

SHA teething problems

On Sunday, October 27, President William Ruto said that some of the challenges in the billing and coverage of the SHA were a result of teething problems.

Coast medical practitioners, however, decried the entire system, noting that it was flawed and that patients were getting the short end of the stick.

“Most of all the doctors in this hospital in Kenya are rejecting SHIF. The people who normally have dialysis can only have dialysis once a month or two when they are supposed to have five cycles or sometimes six cycles. So the other four or five cycles they have to check out of their pockets,” KMPDU Coast chapter Secretary Ghalib Salim Ali said on October 27, 2024.

During a church service in Uasin-Gishu County, Ruto stated that the state would work around to offer long-term solutions to the challenges.

“I know we have had challenges because we are transitioning from what it was to the new model, and in every transition there will be challenges. Those challenges we are managing. Last week, we released funds to help hospitals and dispensaries across Kenya, and next week, we will continue to provide more money until we ensure that the transition is complete,” Ruto said.