On Friday, a high court in Nairobi struck down the rollout and implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), dealing a major blow to President Ruto’s new comprehensive health plan that sought to replace NHIF, the National Health Insurance Fund.
In a judgment rendered by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Alfred Mabeya, Robert Limo, and Lady Justice Dr Freda Mugambi, the court sided with Joseph Enock Aura, who sued last month, arguing that the laws SHI Act 2023, Primary Health Care Act, 2023, and Digital Health Act, 2023, of SHIF was unconstitutional.
“We find that sections 26 (5), 2791) (a), 27 (4), and 47 (3) of the Act are null and void and therefore unconstitutional,” the judges stated.
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Citing the provisions and more, the judges, in their decision, further said that SHIF’s contributions were unfair because its contributions formula looked to burden a few salaried individuals, and the Ministry of Health had not done enough public participation before rolling it out.
After nullifying its health acts, the Attorney General’s office, through Principal State Counsel Emmanuel Bitta, argued that the ruling would cripple the country’s healthcare sector, and the judges granted the government 45 days to appeal the decision, triggering an automatic stay that keeps the law in place during the appeal process.
Kenyans had already begun registration on SHIF from July 1 before the NHIF deactivation slated for October 1, 2024.
President William Ruto has defended the new insurance fund, saying it promises to revolutionize healthcare to realize the dream of universal Health Coverage (UHC), a key pillar of the government development agenda and an integral part of the Kenya Kwanza Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
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