Kenyans registered with the new Social Health Authority (SHA) will get free medication at level two or three facilities, the government has announced.
This comes even as Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa revealed that over 13 million Kenyans have joined the new health scheme.
“I’m pleased to note that so far 13,344,674 Kenyans have registered. Among these are 7,152,487 who transitioned from NHIF and 6,192,188 new registrations,” Barasa explained.
“SHA registrants will benefit from free treatment at level two and three facilities and have access to essential services under the emergency critical illness funds”, said the Cabinet Secretary.
Among the new areas covered by SHA is mental wellness, which was not previously covered by the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). In one month alone, claims under mental wellness amounted to Ksh102 million.
“Under the claims benefit analysis, the top ten services provided within SHA in the first month included mental wellness services which was not previously under NHIF amounting to Ksh102.8 million”, she reiterated.
According to the latest data from SHA, in the last one month, SHA has catered for hospitals bills of worth Ksh289 million for inpatient, Ksh162 million for dialysis care, Ksh132 million for cancer care (oncology), Ksh106 million for maternity and infant care and Ksh95 million for mental wellness.
Under SHA, there have been over 7,900 Kenyans have visited over 800 facilities for deliveries (both normal and caesarean), over 21,000 outpatients at over 2,600 facilities, over 28,000 inpatients at over 1,400 facilities, 15,800 dialysis visits at 225 facilities and 265 mental wellness visits at 95 facilities.
In the last one month, the government has enrolled 4,444 public and government facilities, 2,498 private facilities, 535 faith-based facilities, 17 community facilities and 86 other facilities.
Dr Barasa said the Ministry has put in place adequate measures to facilitate swift processing of claims within 90 days.
“Moving forward, claims will be processed within 90 days to maintain sustainability and responsiveness in healthcare service provision”, she said.
The Cabinet Secretary said SHA system is now fully operationalized, stating that the initial technical issues are being effectively resolved to guarantee smooth service delivery.
“The system is designed to be universally inclusive, meaning that public, private and faith-based healthcare facilities across Kenya operate under the same SHA guidelines, standards, and services. This consistency ensures that registered individuals receive the same quality of care and benefits”, added Dr. Barasa.
The Cabinet Secretary urged Kenyans who are yet to register with SHA to do so, saying it will help them to access comprehensive healthcare services.
To enroll, any interested person is required to dial USSD Code *147#, or online portals AfyaYangu.go.ke. or SHA.go.ke.
Read: One Month Later: Kenyans Share Their Experiences With SHA
