SHA to pay all pending claims in full by end of next week, President Ruto promise

President Ruto during his Nation Adress

In his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, November 21, 2024, President Ruto announced that the Social Health Authority (SHA) would clear all October healthcare claims by next week.

He assured that his administration would address the outstanding debts of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Additionally, he stated that Ksh3. 7 billion would be disbursed tomorrow, complementing the Ksh5 billion distributed last month to settle historical debts owed to public, private, and faith-based medical facilities by NHIF.

“Over the past month, we have disbursed KSh5 billion to settle historical debts owed to public, private and faith-based medical facilities, some of which have been pending for over a decade, and another Ksh3.7 billion will be disbursed tomorrow,”

“We are now doing the heavy lifting: Clearing decade-old debts, as a result, SHA will pay all October claims in full, by next week,” he said.

In addition, Ruto said that his regime is stabilising the health sector by tackling corruption and ensuring access to proper healthcare services.

“By eliminating unnecessary human interaction, we are tackling corruption, reducing inefficiencies and ensuring that resources are used where they are needed most,”

“We are building a healthcare system that serves every citizen with equity and dignity by ensuring access to medicine and equipment and stabilising a system that had failed too many, for too long,” he added.

Speaking on SHIF

In the national address, Ruto assured Kenyans that they would have equitable access to healthcare services once the transition from the NHIF is finalized and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is fully operational.

“Once the transition from NHIF is complete and SHIF becomes fully operational, Kenya will have a healthcare system that guarantees dignity, peace of mind and equitable access for every citizen for the very first time in our 60 years of independence,” he said.