In Taita Taveta, Health Chief Officer Rose Mkamburi said the major challenge is that the programme was controlled from Nairobi with counties having little role to play.
"The registration has not started as Community Health Assistants and Community Health Promoters are yet to be trained," said Mkamburi, adding that the Ministry of Health had not provided policy guidelines.
In Kilifi, Health County Executive Committee member Peter Mwarogo said as of yesterday, they had registered only 9, 235 people.
Yesterday, Coast residents interviewed expressed reservations about the SHIF saying that it was yet to understand its benefits and the difference with the current NHIF.
A marketer, Wakanyi Kuria, said that despite being among the people expected to benefit from the scheme she had not registered because she fears her data will be exposed.
She expressed fears about the security of the private data she will share during the registration saying data can easily be abused if it gets into the wrong hands.
Kuria said she has not also registered because the court has declared it as an illegal fund. "The court has declared it illegal, SHIF is shrouded in mystery," said Kuria.
A car dealer, John Kamau, said the registration was tedious.
"It is cumbersome because after registering online, one has to go again to the nearest health institution to give the biodata. People do not have all the time," he said.
A community health provider in Mombasa, Anna Otum, regretted that they had no information about the new health scheme.
"The people at the grassroots are not aware of this new scheme because we have no information to educate them," said Mrs Otum.
Lack of information
Similarly, in Mt Kenya, the transition is suffering setbacks in Tharaka Nithi and Meru counties, with residents hesitant to register for the health plan.
Interviews revealed that many are not informed well about the need to register for the plan with some expressing fears it is just one of the many attempts by the national government to raise revenue.
Some, like Vincent Njeru, are against the government's plan to force them into a health scheme they do not understand.
"Why should SHIF be compulsory? I fear the government is just trying to get some money to run its projects. But I am open to discussions with it. But they have to convince me first,"he said.
It is a situation that led Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki who is also the Council of Governors health chairman to sensitise residents about the importance of registering for SHIF.
Njuki ruled the fact that out of an estimated half a million residents of his county, only 500 people had registered for SHIF so far.
In Trans Nzoia, locals said they were unable to register since the systems of the new health insurance scheme were not working.
System failure
A number of residents said they have been flocking for registration at Huduma Centres and NHIF offices but could not succeed in registering due to system failure.
"People have been coming for help to register but the system is not working," said an NHIF official who declined to be named.
"We don't know about the new system, I have not been bothered to register," said Isaac Simiyu.
Isaac Korir, a resident of Trans Nzoia, he was still in the dark about the new health scheme.
"Most Kenyans don't know how to register using their phones. The government needs to create awareness if they are serious about meeting its objective," Korir stated.
In Nyanza, residents read malice in the system and claimed it is a ploy by the government to raise funds for projects through other means.
Some opposed SHIF on grounds that it is expensive. Those employed argued that SHIF would take more of their money
Mark Odhiambo said expressed worry that SHIF will lead to higher deductions from his salary than NHIF.
Report by Anne Atieno, James Omoro, Phares Mutembei, Boniface Gikandi, Sofia Matoya, Antony Gitonga, Nikko Tanui, James Munyeki, Willis Oketch, Marion Kithi, Renson Mnyamwezi, Osinde Obare and Martin Ndiema