Senator Omtatah moves to court to block SHIF rollout

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah on Monday filed a petition to contest the official launch of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), scheduled for today, October 1.

Omtatah announced that he, along with Eliud Matindi and Magare Gikenyi, is seeking a court ruling to halt both the SHIF launch and the government's contracts with various service providers involved in the initiative.

“The subsidiary legislation to operationalise the Social Health Insurance Act is not in place, rendering the implementation of the SHIF unconstitutional,” he stated.

Regarding the consortium contracted by the government, which includes three private entities, Omtatah and his fellow petitioners are urging the court to suspend and ultimately annul their contract with the government.

These companies have been hired to provide an Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System for Universal Health Care.

“The petitioners also requested the Court to suspend, and later quash, the decision by the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, State Department of Medical Services, to contract the Safaricom Consortium (comprising of Safaricom Plc, Konvergenz Network Solutions Limited, & Apeiro Limited) to provide the Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System for Universal Health Care (UHC), under Tender No. MOH/SDMS/ADM/SPPP/005/2023-2024,” Omtatah stated.

This development poses yet another challenge to the controversial SHIF, which is facing legal obstacles as various stakeholders question the legality of its establishment.

Clarification

In a statement released on Monday, Social Health Authority (SHA) CEO Elijah Wachira reassured hospitals that all dialysis and other major treatments will continue to be provided.

“Further to my earlier letter on the above subject matter, kindly further note that: No member will be denied Dialysis and Cancer services, Maternity services should not be denied in KEPH levels 2 and 3, and Active Managed schemes should continue accessing services," his letter to hospitals read.

Additionally, private hospitals have been left in uncertainty under the new model, as they have not received any formal contracts from the government.

The Social Health Authority (SHA) is a government agency created to manage the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), one of three funds designed to streamline healthcare financing.

Alongside SHIF, there are two other funds: the Primary Health Care Fund (PHCF) and the Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF).

Each fund has its own role, with SHIF operating as a contributory scheme, while PHCF and ECCIF are funded by the government.

President William Ruto had earlier said that the new SHA aims to address gaps in the NHIF and offer better healthcare services for all Kenyans, regardless of their economic status.

The overhaul is seen as crucial for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a goal that has remained elusive despite several initiatives.

“NHIF made it mandatory for only salaried Kenyans to pay for insurance. Only 20 per cent of Kenyans are salaried, which means 80 per cent had to rely on out-of-pocket payments to settle hospital bills,” said Daniel Mwai, an advisor to the president on health financing.