A Senior Advisor in President William Ruto’s Council of Economic Advisors has announced that the government will publish hotlines for Kenyans to report complaints about being denied healthcare services due to the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Speaking on Thursday, Kuria stated, “We have a hotline, we have a call center, and we are going to ensure that we publish the call center numbers for anybody who is being turned away for any reason. We will be using the reported cases to iterate and improve the system. You will be helping us to identify the non-compliance points.”
The former Public Service Cabinet Secretary emphasized that all contracted healthcare providers have been ordered to attend to patients and not turn them away. He added that the government plans to partner with the media and stakeholders for a nationwide sensitization exercise on the new SHA, assuring Kenyans that they will receive better benefits than those under NHIF.
This announcement comes in response to public complaints regarding the risks posed by the transition, as patients seeking dialysis and cancer treatments were told to pay in cash or were turned away, as the NHIF contributions could not cover their sessions.
The government has directed all healthcare providers and facilities nationwide to adopt SHA to prevent disruptions in service delivery. In a statement released on Wednesday, Health Principal Secretary (PS) Harry Kimtai reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting healthcare facilities following the SHA rollout on October 1, ensuring uninterrupted patient care.
“The Ministry is encouraged by the positive response from healthcare facilities, with many already signing contracts under the SHA’s Healthcare Provider (HCP) provisions,” PS Kimtai stated.
