KUPPET threatens to down tools over teachers' SHA medical cover concerns

KUPPET chairman Omboko Milemba and secretary general Akelo Misore addressing the media outside Aga Khan  hospital.[ Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

A teachers' union has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Social Health Authority (SHA) to address mounting concerns over teachers’ medical cover

Speaking on Thursday outside Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) officials accused SHA of failing to clear the teachers' medical bills, prompting them to resort to fundraisers. 

KUPPETSecretary General Akelo Misori said the current health cover arrangement under SHA had failed teachers, leaving many unable to access treatment despite making significant contributions to the scheme. 

“It is unacceptable that teachers who contribute heavily to the system have to raise funds to be treated,” said Misori

Their issues had stemmed from some 14 cases they had documented, among them, Alex Ngare, a Junior Secondary School teacher, allegedly detained by the facility for failure to clear medical bills amounting to Sh3.2 million. 

Ngare was among the teachers involved in a road accident during the union's Nairobi branch election event at City Primary School earlier this year.

According to the union, SHA only paid Sh1 million, leaving a substantial balance that forced colleagues and the union to conduct a fundraising effort that topped up Sh1.5 million. 

The amount, however, Misori said, is still insufficient to secure the teacher’s discharge from the hospital.

"In the statutory and even in the managed scheme, we are not going to accept this to happen again because previously we have been having a medical cover, which did not compel us to come to hospitals to establish pay bill numbers for contribution or to raise funds in county halls," he said.

Ngare's spouse, Josca Kwamboka, narrated the ordeal she had undergone while trying to secure her husband's discharge unsuccessfully. 

"My husband stayed in the HDU for two weeks. He underwent three operations. The bill is huge. I reached out to the teachers' union after SHA could not clear it," she said. 

She added, "It is very painful for a civil servant to undergo this because SHA cannot pay. The Sh1 million also took long before it reflected."

KUPPET National Chairman Omboko Milemba accused their employer, the Teachers Service Commission, of "breaking their part of barging agreement" in the deal with SHA.

"They said when we go to hospitals, we will be given special treatment and attention. There will be special desks for teachers. They are not there," claimed Milemba.  

Misori further noted that the union had never directly signed an agreement with SHA, stating that teachers’ medical arrangements were negotiated through the Teachers Service Commission as their employer

Beyond the unpaid medical bills, KUPPET also raised concerns over the declining number of hospitals willing to accept teachers under the SHA system.

He claimed that several hospitals in Nairobi and other counties had begun turning away teachers due to delays in claim settlements and technical issues with the pre-authorization system.

“In Nairobi alone, hospitals are withdrawing because the claims system is fatigued and the pre-authorization process is failing,” he said.

The union also cited limited hospital accreditation under the scheme in some regions, saying counties such as Bungoma and Kisumu have only a few facilities available for teachers seeking treatment.

Misori warned that the situation could jeopardise teachers’ lives and disrupt learning if educators are unable to access healthcare, even as he called for immediate engagement with SHA to resolve the issues. 

“If the system cannot work for teachers who are among the biggest contributors, then other Kenyans are suffering even more,” he said. 

“We are giving SHA seven days to engage us and resolve these issues. If they do not, we will call our members to the streets because this system is not working for teachers,” Misori said.