Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) Chairperson Brian Lishenga has cautioned teachers against transferring their medical scheme to the Social Health Authority (SHA), warning they risk losing enhanced benefits unless the law is amended.
Speaking during World Teachers’ Day in Nairobi, Lishenga said that current legislation bars SHA from offering enhanced benefits.
Lishenga asked teachers to fully understand the legal and financial implications of the SHA transition.
Teachers health insurance is expected to be transferred from Minet on December 1,2025.
“The transitional clauses of the Social Health Insurance Act clearly state that on the appointed day, the social health authority shall not offer enhanced benefits,” Lishenga said, adding, “The teachers’ scheme is an enhanced medical scheme, and by law, the Social Health Authority cannot provide it.”
He warned that unless the Act is amended, any attempt to transfer teachers into SHA would likely face legal challenges.
“If someone makes the mistake of transferring teachers to SHA without amendments, I can assure you that by December 2, 2025, there will be a court order stopping it,” he said.
Lishenga accused the government of trying to use teachers’ contributions to prop up what he described as a collapsing medical system.
“SHA is broke, they are fighting for your deductions to save a scheme that should never have existed in the first place,” he said.
He also criticized what he called double taxation on teachers’ medical contributions, noting that educators currently pay 2.75 per cent of their gross income toward the social health fund while also facing separate medical deductions from their pension.
“This duplication is unlawful. Under SHA, 5 per cent of your contribution already goes to administrative costs, while under MINET, 15 per cent is used for the same. By the time you or your family reach the hospital, 20 percent of your money has already been consumed by administration,” Leshanga said.
The RUPHA chair further alleged that corruption and monopoly interests have plagued the teachers’ medical scheme for years.
He claimed that medical administration Kenya Limited, Bliss Healthcare, Life care Hospitals and Apero Kenya are connected through shared ownership, allowing one individual to control multiple layers of the system.
“Both your Scheme Administrator and the Master Capitator are private companies owned by the same person,” Lishenga said. “The same individual also owns Life Care Hospitals and is a major shareholder in Apeiro Kenya, which manages the digital systems of the SHA medical scheme.”
According to Lishenga, a rift between the government and the MINET consortium, highlighted by President William Ruto’s remarks at a recent event, stemmed from financial mismanagement and alleged fraud within the system.
“Between January and May this year, a cartel controlled by that same individual was responsible for defrauding social networks,” he claimed.
Lishenga urged teachers’ unions and representatives to resist the transfer until the law is amended and accountability is established.
“Do not allow yourselves to be taken into a sinking ship. Your hard-earned money should not be used to rescue a broken system,” he said.
