Sunday, November 10, 2024 – President William Ruto's Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which is run by the Social Health Authority (SHA) has received yet another blow.
This is after Church leaders
also rejected it, saying it is not working for patients who are meant to
benefit from it.
This follows the sufferings
patients continue to undergo under SHIF.
Church leaders, led by the
Nation Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Chairman Bishop Alphonso Kanga,
rejected the SHA rollout, challenging the government to prioritize Kenyans
over soliciting more money.
Their concerns about the new
health insurance fund have been raised by cases of Kenyans being forced to pay
out of their pockets despite paying for the insurance for services that were
previously fully covered under the previous health insurance fund, the National
Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
NCCK, which precedes medical
facilities run by faith-based organizations delivered its prognosis a month
after the SHA rollout.
The church leaders have
challenged the government to go back to NHIF as they review SHA and ensure it's
completely working before it fully takes over.
According to the leaders, SHA
and SHIF were hurriedly rolled out, and this was evident by the numerous
complaints made by Kenyans.
"It does not make sense to
us that Kenyans are now paying more money but are getting fewer benefits, we
are moving from okay to worse," Bishop Kanga revealed.
Nyeri Diosis Archbishop Antony
Muheria also reiterated NCCK sentiments, saying that what is happening
in SHIF contradicts every aspect of upholding human rights.
"With the shift from NHIF
to SHIF, we don't seem to have had that thought of the sick, people who die
because they can't get services that's our main concern,” Muheria stated.
However, Ruto’s government has
dismissed calls for a review of the SHIF, insisting that the system works.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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