Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale has directed hospitals to refund civil servants charged out-of-pocket fees for services covered by the Social Health Authority. The order was issued on June 10 during the SHA rollout in Nairobi. Facilities violating the rules face suspension.
CS Duale warned that any health facility demanding unauthorised cash payments from public officers for SHA-covered services will face immediate suspension and must issue full refunds. He stressed that the era of uncontrolled co-payments is over. The directive follows the finalisation of in-service tariffs and contracts that give SHA a clear reimbursement framework. Duale said SHA will now hold providers accountable to agreed rates, pre-authorisation requirements, and clinical standards. To protect the fund from fraud, SHA has expanded biometric registration to dependents aged 7 to 17. The system, already serving over 25 million registered Kenyans, uses fingerprint and facial recognition through the Practice 360 App and is operational in Level 4, 5, and 6 hospitals.