Govt Expands SHIF Coverage to Level Four Health Facilities

The government has announced that Kenyans relying on the Social Health Authority (SHA) treatment schemes will now be able to access key health services at more facilities across the country following the finalisation of key agreements.

SHA acting Chief Executive Officer Robert Ingarisa on Tuesday, November 26, announced that patients will now be able to access primary health care at select Level Four facilities across the country.

”We have since allowed select Level Four facilities as provided for in the Act to offer primary health services. This has eased the pressure that was on the ground,’’ Ingarisa announced.

SHA had initially assigned Level Two and Three facilities as the only point of access for primary care, with the authority revealing that the new announcement would go a long way in complementing health services.

”Initially, we had challenges in offering primary health because of the limited number of facilities under levels two and three,’’ Ingarisa added.

Ingarisa maintained that the decision to include the level four health facilities was informed by the need to expand the pool so that more Kenyans could conveniently access medical services.

Community health centres, dispensaries, clinics, maternity and nursing homes were some of the facilities under level one and two where the fund covered primary health care.

The CEO also announced that the authority is finalising the claims accrued and owed to health facilities by SHA since its rollout.

The announcement now means that Kenyans seeking medical services will be able to be treated at Level Four facilities that include the sub-county hospitals and medium-sized private hospitals.

The Social Health Authority currently runs three treatment fund schemes for Kenyans, including the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Social Health Insurance Fund(SHIF) and the Emergency Chronic and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF).

The Primary Healthcare Fund was primarily established to assist those with minimal contributions, with the primary source of funding coming from the government.

The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is currently funded through household contributions, while the Emergency Chronic and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF) is supported by government funding.