National Health Insurance Fund Transition to Social Health Authority

Former presidential aspirant Reuben Kigame has criticized President William Ruto over the dysfunctional National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)-to-Social Health Authority (SHA) transition whose glitches have left patients unable to access healthcare in hospitals countrywide.

The new public healthcare system have been heavily criticised since the transition began in early October last year for its meagre benefits and cries from Kenyans unable to get treatment despite paying premiums.

The frustration saw angry Kenyans storm the Ministry of Health (MoH) offices in Nairobi on Wednesday to lament the fund's lack of operationalization yet the government repeatedly defends it and calls for patients from Kenyans.

Kigame on Thursday said the new health insurance system cannot work well because it was introduced under dubious motives.

"It is just not working; SHA will never work because it is a con system. There was no lack of a system; NHIF was working and if it had problems, we needed to fix it. Introducing something new where there has been an existing system is outright conmanship," the activist said on Citizen TV's Daybreak program.

He told off President Ruto, calling him a " con artist" who does not have citizens' best interests at heart.

"Everytime you see someone dismantling a system instead of making it better, you are dealing with con artists. Ruto and his henchmen are nothing but con artists," Kigame said.

Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has previously maintained that "services are being offered and people are being treated " under SHA, " but the challenge has been with sensitisation."

The minister was scheduled to address the public later on Thursday amid sustained public outcry on the public health insurance fund.