Teachers question SHA transition as representation, transparency concerns mount

Salim Suleiman, secretary of the Murang'a Teachers Welfare Association. [Snipping Tool] More than 400,000 teachers across Kenya are raising concerns over representation and transparency as the government transitions their medical insurance from the long- standing AON Minet scheme to Social Health Authority, a move that took effect December 1. The shift, which involves teachers who have contributed portions of their salaries to finance insurance under Minet for years, has reopened frustrations over how their health needs are managed. Teachers say they were never consulted and their union leaders failed to represent their interests. "We have leaders in our unions who are also in bed with government. How do you expect someone who is a union chairperson and also a deputy secretary in a political party to represent teachers against his own boss? We have been taken for a ride for a very long time," said Peter Amunga, an education advocate speaking on Spice FM on Tuesday, December 2. Salim Suleiman, secretary of the Murang'a Teachers Welfare Association, said the transition has been mishandled. Teachers' grievances with Minet were well documented, including lack of specialists, unreliable referrals, delays in remittances to hospitals and frequent suspension of services. "You could walk to a facility and find a notice that Minet for teachers has been suspended because money had not been remitted," Suleiman said. The concerns formed part of discussions at a State House meeting in September, where President William Ruto acknowledged teachers were suffering from delays and service gaps. "The head of state himself said he was aware teachers were suffering. He said delays and service gaps were real and needed review," Amunga explained. But what teachers expected to be a genuine review process turned into a sudden decision to collapse the scheme under SHA, Suleiman said. "Unknown to us, the review was about making sure all of us are in SHA. The tendering process was not done. And the current cover is not anchored in the Collective Bargaining Agreement," Suleiman noted. Teachers say unions assured the government they were on board but never consulted members. When teachers met in Mombasa, many said they had no idea which hospitals would admit them under SHA or what benefits had changed. Teachers are questioning changes such as the removal of the group life cover, previously Sh450,000 under Minet. They also fear that despite the government increasing the allocation from Sh15 billion to Sh21 billion, more money does not necessarily mean better services. "Anything that ends with the word 'fund' in this country becomes a problem," Amunga observed. The Teachers Service Commission and SHA officials toured Kenyatta National Hospital on Monday to monitor the transition exercise, with the facility's acting chief executive officer Richard Lesiyampe expressing satisfaction with the process. By 10 a.m on Monday, at least 249 new teacher patients had transitioned to the new scheme, with 48 chronic cases among them. TSC Director for Administrative Services Ibrahim Mumin said surveillance teams were deployed across the country to monitor the transition. He said no teacher would miss treatment. The new scheme is anchored in the Public Officers Medical Scheme Fund Regulations No 195 of 2024. Internal documents indicate the scheme may force teachers to pay for some expensive diagnostic tests as outpatients. Teachers' unions cited a 30-day termination notice available in the scheme should the SHA-administered cover prove unsatisfactory. Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima said the unions would provide fresh recommendations on adjustments by May 2026 after a six-month period. Teachers across the country have been receiving messages from SHA notifying them of enrollment into the new Comprehensive Mwalimu Medical Cover. Under the previous Minet scheme, group life cover provided a minimum of Sh 450,000 and a maximum of Sh 1,050,000 as compensation for death of a principal member. The life cover will now be separated from the medical cover. The transition may have begun, but teachers say their trust in the system and their unions remains deeply shaken.

Teachers question SHA transition as representation, transparency concerns mount

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