Seme Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. James Nyikal has called on the Luo community to register for the Social Health Authority (SHA) in order to benefit from the universal health insurance scheme when seeking medical care and related services.
Speaking in Kochogo village, Nyando Sub-County, during the burial of the mother to Kisumu Central MP Dr. Joshua Oron on Friday, Dr. Nyikal said Kenyans should not be discouraged by the challenges facing the rollout of the new SHA system.
He explained that it was normal for new programmes to face initial difficulties, but assured the public that the issues would be resolved with time.
Dr. Nyikal expressed confidence that SHA would eventually operate effectively once the teething problems are addressed.
The MP, who chairs the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health, revealed that the committee has benchmarked similar health insurance systems in countries such as Germany, Japan, and Thailand, where universal health coverage has proven successful.
“As a Parliamentary Health Committee, we are committed to strengthening the SHA system and ensuring it works as intended to benefit Kenyans,” Dr. Nyikal said, adding that, “No Kenyan should be left behind once it stabilizes.”
He highlighted delays in payments of hospital claims, inadequate training for health workers on how the system operates, and flaws in the government’s means-testing tool used to determine contribution premiums for non-salaried workers as some of the major challenges for SHA.
“The means-testing instrument is not providing accurate contribution rates as you will find some low-income earners are unfairly being asked to pay higher premiums, while wealthier individuals are sometimes assigned lower contribution rates.
He assured that reforms would be made to correct such disparities.
Further, the legislator clarified that registration alone was not enough for one to access the health insurance benefits. Members must also pay their monthly contributions to complete the enrollment process.
“Many people have been misled into thinking that registering automatically qualifies them for coverage. That is not the case. You must make regular contributions to access treatment under the SHA,” he emphasized.
Dr. Nyikal urged Kenyans to focus on the long-term benefits of the programme, stressing that SHA is designed to serve all citizens regardless of tribe, political affiliation, or social status.
By Robert Ojwang’
