Health CS Responds After Glaring Errors Lock Patients Out of SHIF Registration System
Health Cabinet Secretary Debora Barasa assured the public that the Ministry was looking into streamlining the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) digital system after patients aged above 70 years reported being locked out.
Speaking during an interview at Spice FM on Tuesday, Barasa confirmed that the SHIF digital system is currently rejecting patients above 70 years.
“Yes, we are looking into all those concerns. This is the time we are having inputs and feedback from all those who have used the system.”
“We are now at the system development phase. The system is a work in progress, the Ministry is looking to streamline it so that it can be perfect to roll out Universal healthcare,” the CS stated.
Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa when she appeared before Parliament in July 2024 for vetting before her eventual appointment.
She was responding to the question of whether the Ministry was aware that patients whose identification cards begin with a 0 cannot get healthcare attention through SHIF because the system rejects them.
“Is the Ministry aware that patients above 70 are currently facing a problem getting medical attention because the system is rejecting them?”
In the new system, patients above 70 are required to register afresh for new IDs before they can register for Universal Health care.
Drumming up support for the new Health Care Programme seeking to replace NHIF, the CS assured that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is concerned with affordable, accessible, and quality care to ensure good health care.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the new Healthcare system is looking to curb graft which, according to Barasa was rampant, by starting with digital advancement and healthcare provider registration.
1.2 million people have voluntarily registered for the Social Health Authority (SHA) program before its rollout on October 1.
The government directed all civil servants to register for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) by next month. Kenyans have also been encouraged to register.
Kenyans will begin to feel the effect of the rollout from October when the new deductions start to occur.
NHIF building in Nairobi.
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NHIF
