By Faith Anene, Kakamega
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced that the government will clear pending bills owed by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) amounting to KSh5.3 billion within the next two months.
These bills are outstanding payments owed by NHIF to healthcare providers including public, private and faith-based facilities for services offered to members before the fund was dissolved.
“And these pending bills of the NHIF are why we had to close NHIF and start SHA. It had become a den of corruption, where patients’ money was misused. That is immoral and unconstitutional, and we will not allow it to continue,” ~ DUALE
According to Mr Duale, the arrears total KSh 5.3 billion.
“The first repayments will go to hospitals owed between KSh 1 million and KSh 10 million. These claims account for 92 percent of the entire NHIF bill. As a government, under the directive of the President, we will pay them in the next two months,” he said.
Mr Duale added that the government shut down NHIF and replaced it with the Social Health Authority (SHA) because of entrenched corruption.
“And these pending bills of the NHIF are why we had to close NHIF and start SHA. It had become a den of corruption, where patients’ money was misused. That is immoral and unconstitutional, and we will not allow it to continue,” he stated.
Speaking at the Kakamega County during the official launch of the Taifa Care programme at Bukhungu Stadium, Mr Duale said President William Ruto had instructed the National Treasury to prepare a supplementary budget to enable the Ministry of Health to settle the arrears.
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa welcomed the announcement, noting that health facilities in the county had already begun receiving disbursements from the Social Health Authority (SHA).
However, he urged the ministry to speed up the payments to guarantee uninterrupted services for patients.
Mr Duale and Governor Barasa, together with Kakamega Catholic Diocese Bishop Rev Joseph Obanyi, also held a roundtable meeting to address the suspension of services at St Mary’s Hospital in Mumias.
According to the ministry, SHA has disbursed KSh 98 million to the hospital between December 2024 and August 2025. However, the facility is still struggling with an outstanding claim of KSh 143 million from NHIF.
Mr Duale said the government would verify the hospital’s claim and confirmed that it would receive KSh 14.3 million from SHA by 14 September, with a further KSh 10.3 million expected to be resubmitted within two weeks.
“This engagement has aligned the Ministry of Health and St Mary’s Hospital towards a lasting solution. Faith-based institutions remain a vital partner in strengthening our public health system,” he said.
The ministry is accelerating Kenya’s push towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across all 47 counties, with Taifa Care activation and digital health transformation at the centre of its strategy.
During his visit, Mr Duale, accompanied by senior ministry officials, engaged healthcare providers and patients on SHA operations, met stakeholders through the providers’ caucus, and handed over digital devices to strengthen service delivery at the county level.
He was received by Governor Barasa and joined by Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr Ouma Oluga, SHA Chief Executive Officer Dr Mercy Mwangangi, and Digital Health Authority CEO Eng Anthony Lenayara, among other senior officials.
