SHA Responds to TSC After Disclosing That All Teachers Nationwide Were Locked Out

The Social Health Authority (SHA) has addressed allegations from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that it refused to enroll over 360,000 teachers because of a lack of national infrastructure.

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia, during her appearance before the National Assembly Education Committee, stated that attempts to onboard teachers into the SHA scheme failed after being informed that the Authority did not have adequate structures throughout the country to accommodate teachers.

She noted that while TSC has always aimed to enroll teachers into a public insurance scheme, it has not been feasible up to this point.

“Last year, when we encountered issues with Minet, we aimed to transition our teachers to SHA. We have consistently sought to ensure our teachers are covered under the national insurer, even back in the NHIF days,” she mentioned.

However, SHA indicated that all teachers and their dependents qualify for the Social Health Authority (SHA) benefits package under the three Funds.

These include the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and Emergency, Critical and Chronic Illness Fund (ECCIF) just like any other registered and contributing Kenyan.

The authority highlighted that employers such as TSC can offer complementary insurance to their employees for additional benefits through a valid insurance underwriter.

SHA clarified that this supplementary coverage is administered separately from the services it offers.

“The Social Health Authority does not oversee the TSC complimentary medical cover obtained from a private insurance provider,” the statement partially read.

Nonetheless, SHA conveyed that TSC can enroll its members in the public officers’ medical scheme fund, whereby they’ll determine the supplementary benefits according to their budget.

Macharia Claims Authority Noted a Ksh17 Billion Shortfall

Nancy Macharia informed the National Assembly Education Committee that although the government allocated Ksh20 billion for the medical scheme, SHA asserted that it required Ksh37 billion to accommodate the teachers.

“We convened a meeting with SHA prior to renewing our contract with Minet for this final year, and they communicated to us that they lacked sufficient structures. They indicated they would need Ksh. 37 billion to enlist our teachers, but even then, they were unprepared to accept them this year,” she informed the committee.

Committee Chairperson Julius Melly recounted a distressing incident of a teacher who was put in solitary confinement for three months for not settling a hospital bill — despite having insurance.

“What type of insurance cover is this? It’s a mess; it lacks both coherence and structure. You have an insurer, a lead consortium, an administrator, a capitator — this insurance is quite peculiar. You must exit from this situation,” stated Melly.

TSC renewed its three-year contract with Minet Insurance in December 2022, which is scheduled to continue until November 2025.

Nonetheless, the scheme administered by Minet continues to receive criticism for inadequate service delivery, inefficiencies, and delays.

According to SHA, there are 21. 6 million Kenyans registered with SHA, with an average of 50,000 Kenyans registering daily.