Healthcare Crisis? Kenyans Outraged as SHA Demands Full-Year Payments Despite Ruto’s move

A storm of anger and confusion is sweeping across Kenya as the Social Health Authority (SHA) rolls out a sudden and drastic shift in its payment model, from monthly contributions to mandatory full-year payments, leaving millions stranded at the gates of public hospitals. 

Without warning or official public communication, Kenyans are now being turned away from medical facilities unless they pay the entire Ksh12,460 annual premium upfront. Those unable to raise the amount are being advised to take loans from the Hustler Fund and repay them in installments, a move many are decrying as a form of financial coercion. 

“This SHA is not for the poor,” lamented John Nalugala on Facebook, one of many Kenyans sharing their frustrations online. “I tried to pay my monthly contribution like before, only to be told I need to pay the whole amount. This is wrong.” 

Others, like Linda George, narrated being turned away at Level 4 hospitals despite being ill. “SHA refused to serve us. They said we must pay for a full year. What happened to monthly payments?” she said. 

A spot check across various counties confirms this troubling trend, with patients being forced to either borrow, pay out-of-pocket, or return home untreated, despite having previously made monthly contributions. 

In response to the mounting complaints, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga urged affected citizens to document and report all such cases. SHA CEO Dr. Mercy Mwangangi also promised swift intervention, saying the system issues are under review. 

But for many, the damage is already done, access to healthcare, a fundamental right, has become a financial gamble. 

This shake-up comes ironically in the same month President William Ruto launched the ‘Lipa Pole Pole’ mobile payment plan, aimed at easing premium payments for Kenyans in the informal sector. But with this new lump-sum requirement being enforced on the ground, many are questioning whether the staggered payment model was ever a real option. 

Just as the SHA crisis explodes, President Ruto publicly chastised Murang’a County for low SHA enrollment, revealing that only 283,000 out of 1.5 million residents had signed up, placing the county at a dismal 35th out of 47. 

“You’ve clapped too soon,” Ruto told a surprised audience at the Murang’a Investment Forum. “You’ve registered only 27 percent.” 

To address this, the president pledged to send SHA and Ministry of Health officials to launch aggressive sensitisation campaigns in the region. 

However, Murang’a locals may have a reason for their apparent lack of enthusiasm. Governor Irungu Kang’ata’s Kang’ata Care, a locally initiated health scheme, has been providing universal coverage to 40,000 low-income households. Operated with community vetting and quarterly county payments, the scheme appears more accessible and reliable than SHA’s increasingly rigid demands. 

Though the two schemes work in parallel, residents trust Kang’ata Care for its consistency, a trust SHA is rapidly losing nationwide. 

President Ruto’s recent directive for governors to register all public health facilities under SHA is meant to streamline reimbursements and improve healthcare delivery. But with SHA’s current payment enforcement alienating the very people it aims to protect, the scheme’s future hangs in the balance. 

Critics argue the forced loans via Hustler Fund are a clever way of entangling citizens in government debt while offering little in return. “They are not helping us,” said one Nairobi resident. “They are pushing us deeper into poverty.” 

As government agencies scramble to contain the backlash, the question remains: Is SHA still a path to universal health coverage or just another burden on the poor?