RUPHA condemns Duale for suspending 40 private health facilities listed under SHA
By Mabonga Makhanu, August 9, 2025Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association (RUPHA) has criticised Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale over his recent decision to suspend more than 40 hospitals from the Social Health Authority (SHA) programme.
According to a statement issued by RUPHA on Saturday, August 9, 2025, the CS has unfairly targeted the private health sector and the media as scapegoats, instead of focusing on the deep-rooted issues within the SHA system. The association argues that the current SHA model is flawed and financially unsustainable.
“The CS Health has resorted to attacks on the private health sector and the media as the scapegoats for the flawed SHA model. SHA collected just Ksh56B in the 9 months to July compared to NHIF’s Ksh65B for the same period in 2021/22,” RUPHA stated.
RUPHA noted that in the nine months to July, SHA collected only Ksh56 billion, a drop compared to the Ksh65 billion collected by the now-defunct NHIF during the same period in the 2021/2022 financial year.
This shortfall, the association pointed out, occurred despite the higher premiums introduced under SHA. RUPHA further stated that the proxy means testing mechanism, intended to determine contribution levels based on income, has failed to work as intended.
SHA’s bankruptcy
According to the Brian Lishenga-led association, during the same nine-month period, SHA incurred claims worth Ksh89 billion, resulting in a deficit of Ksh32 billion. The association said that instead of implementing corrective measures to address these operational and structural problems, the authority has resorted to penalising health facilities.
KUPHA has claimed that any facility that requests payment for services rendered is being labelled as a fraudster, a cartel, or a beneficiary of past corruption under NHIF.
“Despite higher premiums, proxy means testing has failed. In the same period, SHA incurred claims worth Ksh89B. SHA is in the red to the tune of Ksh32B,” the statement added.
KUPHA warned that SHA’s current financial state cannot be sustained through public relations efforts or by attacking stakeholders and emphasised that urgent reforms are necessary to protect the future of the programme.
Suspension of 40 hospitals
This confrontation follows the official gazettment of 40 hospitals suspended from the SHA programme over fraudulent practices by CEO Mercy Mwangangi. The move followed a directive by CS Duale on August 8, 2025, to publish the names of suspended facilities in a Gazette Notice after investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The Ministry of Health has vowed to uphold strict oversight to safeguard the Social Health Authority programme and ensure public funds reach genuine healthcare providers.