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Healthcare — SHIF / NHIF

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The transition from NHIF to SHIF: who pays, who is covered, what is still broken.

Updated 21 Jun 2026
275 Contributions
0 Related bills
10 Top voices
2 Houses engaged
  • The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) replaces the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023. — Social Health Insurance Act, 2023
  • SHIF contributions are 2.75% of gross monthly salary (no cap), versus NHIF's banded model that capped at KES 1,700/month. — Ministry of Health
  • The transition has been contested in court; the Health Committees in both Houses have held public sittings on roll-out delays. — Hansard

The story so far

Kenya's health-insurance regime is being rebuilt. The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) — created by the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 — replaces the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) that has served Kenyans since 1966.

The transition affects who pays, who is covered, and which facilities accept the insurance card. Roll-out has been bumpy: court challenges, registration delays, and disputes over which services SHIF covers compared with the NHIF scheme it replaces.

Parliament's role is two-fold: oversight of the Ministry of Health's implementation, and amendments to the SHIF Act and its regulations. This page tracks both — the Hansard contributions, committee sittings, and any further Bills that change the scheme.

AI-drafted summary, editor-approved. Sources linked inline.

What Parliament is doing about it

Where it's debated

Senate 161 59%
National Assembly 114 41%

Activity over time

Top voices on Healthcare — SHIF / NHIF

  1. 1 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Speaker
  2. 2 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Sen. Cheruiyot
  3. 3 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Sen. Cherarkey
  4. 4 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Temporary Speaker (Sen. Abdul Haji)
  5. 5 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri)
  6. 6 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Kimani Ichungwah (Kikuyu, UDA)
  7. 7 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} (Dr) Robert Pukose (Endebess, UDA)
  8. 8 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Sen. Mandago
  9. 9 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} (Dr) James Nyikal (Seme, ODM)
  10. 10 {# Link to the member's profile when we resolved one in get_context; otherwise fall back to the name resolver (handles "Speaker", surname-only, etc.). #} Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale

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