Why SHA wants hospitals not dispensing drugs punished

SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi during the launch of biometric registration for dependents aged 7- 17 in Nairobi, on June 10th 2026. [Collins Oduor, Standard] 

Starting Monday, hospitals accredited by the Social Health Authority (SHA) to offer primary healthcare will be surcharged if they do not dispense prescribed drugs to patients after treating them.

SHA Chief Executive Officer Mercy Mwangangi said patients have been complaining that most accredited facilities do not dispense drugs and that they often direct patients to specific private pharmacies to buy the prescribed drugs.

“One of the complaints we've received from citizens, particularly when it comes to the primary health care fund, is that they walk-in, consult healthcare workers, sometimes get lab services, but don't get prescribed medicine,” said Dr Mwangangi.

She spoke at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on Wednesday, when SHA signed the Public Officers Medical Scheme Fund (POMSF) implementation and launched biometric registration for underage dependants in the SHA system.

She said a system built, controlled and managed by SHA revealed a downward prescription and dispensing rate of 23 per cent. “It means Kenyans are walking in, finding a doctor, diagnostics, and walking away without drugs. Coming in the next payment cycle from June 15, we shall be releasing payments for all the schemes that we run. For providers who are contracted under PHC, we shall now introduce a surcharge when you do not prescribe and dispense medicines. We will deduct close to 38 per cent of your pay. That money will be held by the Digital Health Agency (DHA) and the Kenyans will be sent to a pharmacy or another facility to get their prescription.”

The CEO also said in the next contracting cycle that begins on September 1, SHA will introduce walk-in walk-out in all the 419 accredited hospitals for select services for ordinary Kenyans. “We shall introduce what is known as a public auction for our healthcare providers, which is now targeted at the ordinary citizens, the boda boda guys and the Mama mbogas.”

Echoing Dr Mwangangi on surcharge, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga, said hospitals that don't give prescribed medicine to patients are the ones giving SHA a bad name.

However, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who is also Council of Governors (CoG) vice chair urged Mwangangi to first engage the hospitals before starting the surcharge, saying not all hospitals deserve to be punished. He added that 29 counties have digitised their operations and should be considered first for the DHA tablets.

DHA chief executive, Eng. Anthony Lenaiyara, revealed that they have distributed 42,000 tablets to public hospitals with a 10-year period Internet for automated operations.

Oluga also asked employers to register workers and update their statutory deductions to SHA.

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes, Geoffrey Ruku, said civil servants will not be among the SHA defaulters. “As a ministry, we are committed to ensure all the monies for public servants payable to SHA are remitted. Today, we remitted over Sh6 billion. We are under very strong instructions from President William Ruto to ensure ministries deliver their mandate with military precision." 

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale described the POMSF as a defining milestone for civil servants.

The signing comes weeks after public officers including teachers, police officers and civil servants said they were facing detention at hospitals, delays in approvals and unauthorised co-payments.

“To restore order and protect our beneficiaries, we initiated a very structured response. I directed SHA to withdraw the tariff locking as an interim measure. Then we embarked on a targeted nationwide tariff negotiation with private and faith-based level 3 to 6 healthcare facilities,” said CS Duale. "Today, exactly four weeks later, I am proud to announce that SHA has fully delivered on that mandate after on Tuesday night, SHA engaged healthcare providers, negotiated fair and sustainable tariffs and signed contracts which officially lock the agreed tariffs into the system for full implementation.”

The POMSF, he said was established under Legal Notice No. 195 of 2024 to ensure public officers did not lose sectoral medical cover during the transition to SHA.

He said because of the enhanced premiums paid by employers, the public officers will now enjoy comprehensive outpatient and inpatient care, advanced surgical care, oncology, renal dialysis, dental, optical and specialised overseas treatment.

He warned that any facility that will demand unauthorised cash from public officers for services covered under the approved package will face immediate suspension and be compelled to issue full refunds.

Duale said the biometric registration marks a decisive step toward a fully integrated national health identification ecosystem, adding that the government has distributed over 8,067 biometric scanners across all public health facilities through DHA.

Oluga said the biometric system will prevent issues of doctors attending to the wrong patients.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) welcomed the signing and implementation of POMSF.

“We (Knut) are convinced this is the best scheme for teachers,” said Collins Oyuu, Knut secretary general.

KNH chief executive, Dr Richard Lesiyampe, said the biometrics will help the hospital improve in service delivery. “As we boast 125 years of existence, today we are also celebrating 55 days of digitisation to become paperless with support of the Ministry of Health and DHA. Biometric registration will help us advance the goal.”