Teachers' SHA medical cover kicks off as doubts on efficiency linger

KNH’s acting Chief Executive Officer Richard Lesiyampe says teachers transitioned to the new medical scheme under SHA. [File, Standard]

Teachers remain skeptical about the migration of their medical cover from AON Minet to Social Health Authority (SHA) despite the government announcing a successful transition.

On the first day of implementation, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and SHA officials on Monday toured Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) to monitor the transition exercise.

While giving an update at the facility, KNH’s acting Chief Executive Officer Richard Lesiyampe expressed satisfaction at the process.

“I just want to confirm to you that from last night, TSC staff, particularly the teachers, transited to the new medical scheme under SHA,” Dr Lesiyampe said.

Kenya’s 400,000 teachers and their dependents begun the transition from the long-serving AON Minet medical scheme to the government-run medical scheme under SHA.

The new cover, which officially took effect on December 1, 2025, has, however, elicited mixed reactions within the education sector.

“I wish to confirm that 42 teachers transited into the new scheme. We are ready and want to assure any teacher who will seek services here that we are adequately prepared for the transition as we continue to provide excellent and seamless services,” said Lesiyampe.

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TSC Director for Administrative Services Ibrahim Mumin echoed the reassurance, noting the rising uptake.

“As at 10am this morning, 249 new teacher patients have transitioned to this new scheme. Out of these, 48 have chronic case. We have surveillance teams across the country to monitor the transition. No teacher will miss treatment,” he said. Mumin urged teachers to fully utilise the new cover, saying the systems are stable with designated support desks in place.

But even as TSC and government technocrats tout the transition as a major reform milestone, teachers’ unions warn that any misstep could disrupt access to essential healthcare.

For weeks, teachers have reported difficulty registering on the SHA platform, missing one-time passwords, slow customer support, and limited information about the structure of the new benefits.

“Many teachers are struggling to register. Some have waited days for OTP codes, and others do not know which hospitals are accredited,” said Mary Wambui, a teacher from Kiambu who attempted to onboard several times without success.

Jane Mukhonje, a teacher from Kakamega faced similar challenges.

“Teachers and their dependents are being turned away as most private hospitals refuse to attend to them under SHA. I have a patient with whom I have been waiting for hours in hospital,” she claimed.

TSC maintains that all teacher records, including 320 who are currently admitted across 100 hospitals, have been successfully transferred to the SHA system.

“Teachers wishing to add dependents can do so by dialling *147# or through SHA’s online portals at www.sha.go.ke or www.afyayangu.go.ke,” a notice by TSC says.