The Government of Kenya has rebranded the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Taifa Care.

President William Ruto, In his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, November 21, remarked that Kenyans had shifted from the now defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) model to Taifa Care.

SHIF was Kenya's latest step toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), replacing the NHIF.

President Ruto, attributed NHIF's shortcomings, as the drive behind the change, claiming despite accumulating debts amounting to Billions it did not cover all citizens.

" Despite serving a limited class of citizens, NHIF nevertheless accumulated billions of shillings of debt because of misalignment between contributions and the actual cost of healthcare. Taifa Care has undertaken an accurate costing of all healthcare-related goods and services, in order to provide timely, effective and efficient service to everyone,” Ruto said.

Since its rollout on October 1, 2024, the public has raised concerns over SHIF's effectiveness; citing that the new system locks out thousands of patients from accessing healthcare services.

The Kenya Kwanza administration has been accused of rushing to roll out a Sh104.8 billion system that was full of missteps, questioning why the government ignored signs of imminent trouble.

Ruto however, disagrees on this, during his address, he went on to state that under Taifa Care, citizens are eligible for all services upon registration.

"Taifa Care has undertaken an accurate costing of all healthcare-related goods and services, in order to provide timely, effective and efficient service to everyone," he said.

The Head of State, revealed 60 per cent of employers had successfully transitioned into the system and over 15 million Kenyans have currently enrolled in Taifa Care.

"Once the transition from NHIF is complete and SHIF becomes fully operational, Kenya will have a healthcare system that guarantees dignity, peace of mind and equitable access for every citizen for the very first time in our 60 years of independence," Ruto Said.

Health facilities which have successfully rolled out the Social Health Authority (SHA) will start receiving their reimbursements in two weeks.

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Deborah Barasa said the authority was currently processing the claims which shall be paid by the end of this month.

The payments would be effected even as the government moves to clear the outstanding debt owed to hospitals by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

She said the Ministry of Health (MoH) would this week release an additional Sh2.5 billion to health facilities to clear part of the outstanding NHIF debt.

Speaking during a visit to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu on Monday, the CS said releasing the first payment of SHA to accredited health facilities was a testament that the scheme was working.

"We are here this morning on a routine evaluation of SHA and having toured this facility I am happy to report that SHA is working," she said.

A spot check across other health facilities in the area revealed that patients who had registered were receiving treatment and the referral system was working.

"We are particularly concerned about the distribution of radio therapy services in the country and I am impressed that here in Kisumu we are progressing well," said the CS.

The CS asked Kenyans to continue registering to ensure that they have access to quality medical care at all levels across the country.

She appealed to Community Health Promoters and other health care workers spearheading the registration exercise to redouble their efforts to ensure that all Kenyans are brought on board.

"We have visited the maternity wing and I am impressed with the quality of services being offered. With as little as Sh300-450, our mothers are able to deliver here through SHA. The data we have received from the facility is very encouraging," she said.