Trouble is brewing for Social Health Authority (SHA) as a petition seeking to disband the new health scheme takes shape.

Hannah Nderitu started a petition on Change.org on Sunday aiming to collect signatures for a petition seeking to disband the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and restore the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

The petition proposed that restoring NHIF and rectifying its shortcomings is the country’s best bet to secure a health system that will alleviate problems caused by the new scheme.

The lobby group, as a result, called on Kenyans to volunteer their signatures in order to help win the petition.

“As someone deeply concerned and directly impacted by the state of health care in Kenya, I fervently call for the restoration of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF),” Hannah shared.

According to the lobby group, SHIF/SHA, or Taifa Care, has failed to operate according to the Kenyan constitution, necessitating urgent intervention.

“The efficacy and funding model of SHIF/SHA have resulted in substandard and overly expensive medical care, leaving millions of Kenyans burdened and distraught,” Hannah pointed out.

One area of contention in the SHIF is the out-of-pocket health expenditure. Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed out-of-pocket health expenditure in Kenya amounted to 26 per cent of the total health expenditure.

The 26 per cent out-of-pocket expenditure highlights the health system for falling short of its purpose of universal care.

“We must remind ourselves that reliable and affordable health care is not just a demand, it is a constitutional right,” the lobby group noted.

The SHA was established as part of the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act, No. 16 of 2023 (SHIA), which aims to enhance healthcare access and affordability for all Kenyans.

SHA is responsible for managing the newly created Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) which went into effect on October 1, 2024. 

However, since its roll-out, SHA encountered several significant challenges that have hindered its effectiveness and accessibility for patients.

Across all types of healthcare facilities, public, private and mission, patients are experiencing increasing out-of-pocket expenses for primary care services and medication refills that were once covered by NHIF.

Patients with chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases are facing systemic barriers that impede their access to timely and affordable healthcare.