People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has explained her struggle with the Social Health Authority (SHA) after her father was admitted to hospital.
Speaking on Thursday, February 19, Karua explained that SHA footed less than 10 percent of her father’s hospital bill.
The PLP leader stated that she had to dig deeper into her own pocket to clear the rest.
“My father was hospitalised last week, and his bill had accumulated to more than Ksh300,000. SHA only paid Ksh17,000 of the total,” she intimated.
Karua explained that lapses in the health insurance under the SHA left families suffering. She acknowledged that while she was in a position to cover the balance, many Kenyans could not.
“Right now, Kenyans pay a bigger percentage of the bills, which was different when we were still under NHIF. Why did the government move away from something that was working?” She posed.
Karua reiterated that Kenyans had to go through a lengthy process. enjoy healthcare under SHA, or at least know somebody at the top.
She further accused the government of enriching a few Kenyans at the expense of the citizens’ health.
“Don’t deduct our money, yet we cannot see where it is going. All we see is people getting rich, yet we cannot ascertain what businesses they are involved in,” the PLP party stated.
Karua maintained that the government had taken a step back by moving from NHIF to SHA.
She joins leaders who have criticised the SHA. Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya had repeatedly told President William Ruto that the insurance fund was dysfunctional.
SHA has also been marred with allegations of corruption, with the latest expose revealing that the insurance had lost Ksh11 billion.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale admitted the money had been lost, but explained that the Ministry of Health had set out to recover the funds.
Duale clarified that the billions arise from fake claims by medical facilities, which have since been removed from the system.
