Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has come out to clear the air after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said that over 360,000 teachers were left out of the new government health cover.
Duale explained that all teachers in Kenya — and their families — are allowed to get treatment under the new health plan from the Social Health Authority (SHA). This plan has three main parts: the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Emergency, Critical and Chronic Illness Fund (ECCIF).
He said that as long as a teacher is registered and is making their payments to SHA, they will get access to treatment just like every other Kenyan.
However, Duale also pointed out that SHA does not manage the private insurance cover that teachers currently have through their employer, TSC. That extra cover is handled by a private company, and TSC has the freedom to choose what kind of extra medical insurance they want to give their staff — if they can afford it.
This comes after TSC boss Nancy Macharia told Parliament that SHA refused to take in teachers, saying they didn’t have enough hospitals and systems in place. She added that SHA said it would cost Ksh37 billion to build the needed infrastructure.
Macharia said TSC had even considered moving teachers to SHA after problems with their current insurer, Minet, but SHA wasn’t ready.
Despite the back-and-forth, Duale says SHA has already registered over 21 million Kenyans and signed up more than 8,000 health facilities. He insists teachers are welcome, and that the door is open for them to join the new health system.
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