TSC CEO Nancy Macharia
The Social Health Authority (SHA) could not enroll over 360,000 teachers due to insufficient nationwide infrastructure. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) attempted to enroll teachers but was informed by SHA that they lacked the necessary infrastructure to handle such a large number of enrollees. The TSC has long sought to place teachers under a national insurance scheme, but previous attempts have been unsuccessful. This was evidenced by their failed attempt to transition teachers to SHA from Minet last year due to SHA's lack of sufficient infrastructure and a reported need of Ksh.37 billion to enroll the teachers.
Despite a significant budget allocation for teacher medical insurance, the necessary funds were not available to implement the program this year . A parliamentary meeting addressed numerous complaints regarding inadequate medical care for teachers, even with a Ksh.20 billion contract in place . This was underscored by a case where a teacher faced three months of solitary confinement for an unpaid hospital bill, despite having insurance .
"What kind of insurance cover is this? It’s a mongrel; it has no head or tail. You have an insurer, a lead consortium, an administrator, a capitator — it’s a very funny type of insurance. You must get out of this thing,” said Melly.
Luanda MP Dick Maungu called for teachers to be grouped into clusters based on job group or region to fast-track the approval process at health facilities, arguing that the current centralized mechanism is inefficient.
“With Bliss Health Care being the master capitator and considering the large number of teachers, it becomes difficult for them to handle approvals in time — and that’s where the delays come in. Why is it not possible cluster teachers to narrow it down? Currently, the system is overwhelmed," Maungu remarked.
The main obstacle to providing comprehensive insurance, according to the TSC CEO, was insufficient funding . The CEO urged for increased resource allocation to resolve the issue .