Ruto urges Kenyans to report hospitals that charge SHA members

President William Ruto. [file, Standard]

President William Ruto has asked Kenyans who are asked to pay for healthcare services despite the rollout of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to report such cases to the police.

Speaking during Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kitui on Monday, Ruto said the Kenya Kwanza administration had allocated sufficient funds to provide quality healthcare for all Kenyans.

He said the Social Health Authority (SHA) guarantees access to care for everyone who has registered with the scheme.

“If you go to a hospital and have registered with SHA, you must be treated and the government will pay for you. Do not pay anything,” said Ruto.

“If there is a hospital charging Kenyans any money, I want wananchi to report to the police because the government has already provided funds to cover hospital expenses for all Kenyans.”

The President emphasised that healthcare should not be a privilege for the wealthy or the formally employed but a right for every Kenyan.

“We want health to be a right for every Kenyan. That is why we have rolled out UHC to ensure every Kenyan can access treatment,” he said.

Data by SHA shows that at least 26 million Kenyans have so far registered with SHA, with a target of 30 million expected to have enrolled by December.

In Kitui, Ruto revealed that 405,000 out of expected 1.2 million people have registered with SHA, representing 36 per cent of the county’s population.
“I want to ask the people of Kitui to register with SHA. Registration is free,” the President said. 

He explained that registration with the scheme that replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) will help the government plan better for healthcare needs, including the supply of medicines, deployment of health workers, and provision of equipment.