The Social Health Authority (SHA) has responded to earlier claims that it cannot enroll teachers under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The social health program has clarified that TSC employees, just like any other Kenyan, qualify for coverage as enumerated in the enrollment schedules.
Earlier reports had questioned SHAs ability to enroll more than 360,000 active members of the Teachers Service Commission.
Educators will now be eligible for all the SHA benefits, provided they pay up monthly premiums, just like everyone else.
The Authority confirmed that teachers can tap into the Primary Health Care Fund (PHCF), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Emergency, Critical, and Chronic Illness Fund (ECCIF).
SHA further clarified that it’s coverage does not restrict members from seeking additional health insurance packages.
In a statement issued on April 26, SHA noted that employers, including the TSC, can offer complementary insurance to their staff through licensed insurance underwriters. The Authority further pointed out that the TSC can enrol its members in the Public Officers’ Medical Scheme Fund and tailor complementary benefits based on its financial plans.
Addressing claims that it lacks the infrastructure to enrol Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employees, SHA underlined that it has already contracted 8,000 healthcare facilities across the country to bolster service delivery.
This comes after TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia told the National Assembly’s Education Committee that the Commission had approached SHA amid mounting frustrations over its current insurance provider, Minet.
She revealed that SHA officials, in a recent meeting, estimated they would need about KES 37 billion to onboard teachers—yet even with the funding, they would not be ready to do so this year.
The disclosure surfaced as Members of Parliament grilled TSC over rising complaints from teachers struggling to access treatment, despite the KES 20 billion contract with Minet. Macharia admitted that budgetary constraints and delayed disbursements have severely hampered the scheme.
“If our teachers are to receive the best medical services, they need full insurance coverage,” she said. “But we cannot achieve that because of budgetary constraints. We also need timely disbursements to the consortium, as delays are frequent.”
Source: the Star
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