Former DP Rigathi Gachagua/HANDOUTFormer Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said the new Social Health Authority is a good universal health insurance scheme, but its implementation was rushed.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview via TikTok, Gachagua said SHA has experienced teething problems because at some point it deviated from the initial plan regarding its implementation.
“This programme was rushed without taking sufficient time and consulting all the stakeholders on how to implement it to make health affordable to every Kenyan,” he said.
Gachagua said the idea of the new insurance scheme covering all manner of ailments, including chronic diseases, was commendable, but the pace at which it was rolled out was too fast.
The government transitioned from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to SHA on October 1, 2024.
The former DP said experts had advised that instead of pouring Sh104 billion into the new scheme, all the government needed to do was enhance the NHIF at a cost of about Sh800 million.
“If that had been done and the initial plan followed through, it would have meant that Kenyans would pay Sh300 to cover the whole family. As it is, that is not the case,” Gachagua said.
The government has admitted that the SHA, the entity mandated to manage the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) encountered teething problems at the onset of its implementation, but most of those issues have since been resolved.
Kenyans contribute to the scheme monthly based on their income levels, with the government paying for the unemployed and those unable to raise the minimum Sh300.
Upon the switch to SHA, patients across various health facilities complained that the system was down, prompting hospital management to demand that they foot their bills from the pocket.
Gachagua said as things stand, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and get public views on the efficiency of SHIF and stick to the original plan of rolling out SHA.
“The promise was apt, but the implementation has been very wanting. I’m of the opinion that we could still go back to factory settings and stick to the original plan of improving the NHIF to make it more useful, more affordable, and more friendly,” he said.
“When people express themselves and say what they feel about a new programme, it is not necessary to say that it’s wrong. We can just listen to what people are saying and agree to take criticism that (SHA) is not working, take those divergent opinions as a strength, incorporate them into the original idea, and have an improved health programme as envisaged in the manifesto,” Gachagua added.
