Ruto announces increase in cancer treatment cover to Sh800,000 under SHA from December 1, 2025
The President explained that the expanded cover is part of the government’s wider plan to secure stronger financial protection for people battling long-term illness.
President William Ruto has announced that cancer patients will, from December 1, 2025, access treatment worth up to Sh800,000 under the Social Health Authority, raising the current limit from Sh550,000.
He said the move aims to ease the strain many families face as treatment costs continue to climb, adding that no household should be pushed into debt while seeking care.
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During the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday, the President explained that the expanded cover is part of the government’s wider plan to secure stronger financial protection for people battling long-term illness.
He said the adjustment will allow patients to receive steady and quality treatment without the fear of being cut off midway.
Ruto used the address to highlight what he described as the boldest effort to rebuild Kenya’s health system since independence.
He said the reforms are anchored on fairness, new ideas and the belief that every citizen, “wherever they live and whatever their means, deserves equal care.”
He noted that 27 million Kenyans have so far registered under SHA, a figure that he said is more than triple what the former National Health Insurance Fund ever managed.
“This is a demonstration that leaving no one behind was and is not a slogan. It is a promise on course to fulfilment,” he said.
According to the President, more than 10,000 facilities have already been approved to operate under the new system, widening access across all counties.
Ruto pointed out that good healthcare must begin at the community level before one gets to a health centre. He recalled the rollout of 107,000 community health promoters in September 2023, describing it as the largest primary healthcare team ever deployed in the country. He said they were trained, equipped and posted to every ward and that their work has brought visible results.
“So far, 8.9 million households have been visited. A total of 9.9 million diabetes screenings have been conducted, with 134,000 cases diagnosed. Another 6.5 million hypertension screenings have identified 305,000 confirmed cases. Millions of lives have been touched and thousands saved,” he said, calling the promoters the “quiet, devoted, tireless heroes of this new era.”
He also defended the government’s promise to deliver Universal Health Coverage, saying many had doubted the ability to support those without income.
“Today we are paying premiums for 2.3 million vulnerable Kenyans, including orphans, widows, the elderly and those without income, because for them, healthcare is not a privilege,” he said, while also thanking lawmakers who have stepped in to help needy households.
Ruto outlined other ongoing changes, including the modernisation of hospital machines through the National Equipment Service Project.
Under the new plan, private firms will put in, manage and run the equipment while public hospitals pay per use, replacing the old model that had burdened counties with heavy costs.
He said the government has also fixed delays in medical supplies by restructuring PEMSA, raising the availability of medicines from 48 per cent to 68 per cent, with plans to reach 90 per cent by the end of the year and full supply by March next year.
The President said the reforms signal more than improved services and represent “a long-deferred promise finally taking shape,” built on dignity and fairness.
“With the enhanced cancer cover and continued strengthening of UHC, we are building a Kenya where every citizen can face tomorrow with confidence, knowing their nation will stand with them in their hour of need,” he said.
Ruto said the shift from NHIF to SHA, which began on October 1, 2024, after the Social Health Insurance Act came into force, marked a turning point in how health financing works in the country.
The new system widens the services offered and changes how Kenyans pay for care.
The President has been leading the national registration campaign and has encouraged all citizens to sign up through *147# or the online portal. He has described SHA as a patient-focused programme meant to remove cost barriers and said it breaks away from what he called the “inefficiencies and limitations” of NHIF.
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