Is SHA causing us troubles?

With the recent turn of events, citizens are asking if the Social Health Authority (SHA) is causing us troubles. SHA has caused considerable confusion and raised concerns among many citizens. The program began on 1st October 2024 with the aim of enhancing the nation’s healthcare system and now it has turned into a subject of discussion among the public. This is one of the largest initiatives that the current political administration is undertaking.

Private hospitals have decided to boycott SHA because of the 10-month delay in the payment of dues owed. It is rather disheartening that civil servants cannot access health care services. This is despite their pay slips showing monthly deductions for the scheme. During the boycott, patients were to use cash since SHA was non-functional. The less fortunate end up being denied access to healthcare.

Furthermore, hospitals are yet to receive dues from NHIF. The amount of money NHIF owed to hospitals was significant, impacting the cash flow of many hospitals. This is affecting the operations of various hospitals. This ultimately impacts the provision of healthcare services.

To aggravate matters further, the auditor general, Dr. Nancy Gathungu pointed out concerns over noncompetitive procurement due to the use of specially permitted procurement procedures. The presence of unclear work scopes related to system installation, payment arrangement agreements concerning the rates imposed by the system, and unfavorable contract terms. She has defended the SHA audit report in front of the Senate committee.

Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants held a press conference to urge the government to address the SHA issues. They indicated that immediate reforms must be implemented or else there will be a series of protests commencing. Subsequently, they could issue a joint strike notice countrywide.

As the challenges of SHA become apparent, some are even proposing that Kenya revert to NHIF. Some citizens claim that the NHIF was more reliable, whereas others think that a fully functional SHA could still succeed if the problems are properly managed. The growing discontent among citizens and healthcare providers brings up legitimate worries regarding the effectiveness and sustainability of SHA in the long-term.

The Ministry of Health should consider getting insights by partnering with research companies like Research 8020 Limited . By gathering different opinions fron citizens using SHA, the government can improve the service delivery within the health sector.

Despite the numerous criticisms, President William Ruto has assured the public that SHA will ultimately be fully effective after some time, despite facing difficulties. We all wish for a solution to be discovered for all the concerns expressed by Kenyan citizens.

The only desire of Kenyans is to obtain adequate health care. Ultimately, the quality of service we receive is more significant than the SHIF deductions.