Former Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has strongly criticized President William Ruto’s proposal to implement the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), labeling it as a potential disaster in the making.
In a recent interview, Kagwe expressed skepticism about the rationale behind replacing the established National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) with SHIF, asserting his belief that SHIF is unlikely to succeed.
Kagwe questioned the wisdom of altering Kenya’s national health insurance system, particularly highlighting concerns that shifting some government employees to private sector insurers under SHIF could undermine its effectiveness. He argued that public funds allocated for healthcare should continue to be managed through NHIF, emphasizing its longstanding role in healthcare financing.
“I have never quite understood the necessity of the changes that happened because I have always believed that considering that insurance is based on probability and medical insurance more so than anything else. Money from the exchequer meant for health purposes should be channeled through NHIF as it were,” Kagwe remarked.
Specifically criticizing the decision of the National Police Service to engage a consortium of insurers for healthcare needs instead of utilizing NHIF, Kagwe pointed out the significant financial contributions made by police officers, amounting to Ksh8.67 billion, which he argued could strengthen NHIF’s capacity to cover a larger segment of the Kenyan population.
Kagwe’s comments have sparked a contentious debate regarding the future direction of national health insurance in Kenya. Advocates of SHIF contend that it promises more inclusive and equitable healthcare coverage.
