‘SHA will pay all October claims in full by next week’- President Ruto
By Valerian Khakayi, November 21, 2024President William Ruto has promised that his administration would settle the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) outstanding debts.
Speaking during the State of the Nation Address on Thursday, November 21, 2024, Ruto said that the Social Health Authority (SHA) will clear all the October Healthcare claims by next week.
He noted that his administration will disburse Ksh3.7 billion tomorrow in addition to the Ksh5 billion disbursed last month to settle historical debts owed to public, private and faith-based medical facilities by NHIF.
“Over the past month, we have disbursed KSh5 billion to settle historical debts owed to public, private and faith-based medical facilities, some of which have been pending for over a decade, and another Ksh3.7 billion will be disbursed tomorrow,”
“We are now doing the heavy lifting: Clearing decade-old debts, as a result, SHA will pay all October claims in full, by next week,” he said.
In addition, Ruto said that his regime is stabilising the health sector by tackling corruption and ensuring access to proper healthcare services.
“By eliminating unnecessary human interaction, we are tackling corruption, reducing inefficiencies and ensuring that resources are used where they are needed most,”
“We are building a healthcare system that serves every citizen with equity and dignity by ensuring access to medicine and equipment and stabilising a system that had failed too many, for too long,” he added.
Ruto on SHIF
During the national address, Ruto assured Kenyans of equitable access to healthcare services once the transition from NHIF is complete and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) becomes fully operational.
“Once the transition from NHIF is complete and SHIF becomes fully operational, Kenya will have a healthcare system that guarantees dignity, peace of mind and equitable access for every citizen for the very first time in our 60 years of independence,” he said.
NHIF outstanding debts
A majority of the faith-based, public and private hospitals are owed by the government up to Ksh19 billion in unpaid debt from the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) which was transitioned to SHA.
President William Ruto on Saturday, November 16, 2024, said that Ksh5 billion of the debt had been disbursed and another Ksh2.5 billion would be released towards the hospitals owed.
In their latest health report conducted between August 14-29, 2023, the government owed 47 health facilities in the country while 46 per cent were run by private players.