With the official rollout of the Social Health Authority (SHA) on Tuesday October 1, Kenyans will now be required to pay 2.75 percent of their income as individuals or households to the scheme.
SHA aims to ensure that all Kenyans have access to quality, affordable and comprehensive quality health services from health promotion to prevention, curative, rehabilitation, and palliative care without suffering financial hardship.
The new health scheme is based on risk and resources pooling to increase efficiency of the healthcare system that ensures that people pay for premiums into a pooled fund that can be used for those who need the services at no cost when they need the services.
In the case of a household whose income is derived from salaried employment, contributions will be made through a monthly statutory deduction from the wages or salary by the employer.
However, in a household where members have separate incomes, their incomes will be combined, and the 2.75% contribution will be applied to the total combined income.
Additionally, if both spouses are employed, they will both required to make monthly contributions.
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SHA Contributions of Non- Employed Kenyans
A household whose income is not derived from salaried employment shall pay an annual contribution to the Social Health Insurance Fund at a rate of 2.75% of the proportion of household income as determined by the means testing instrument.
The minimum contributions us set at Ksh 300 with no maximum amount payable annually.
Additionally, the amount payable shall be paid fourteen days before the lapse of the annual contribution of the beneficiary
The Authority, in collaboration with the Ministry of cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises development and other financing institutions, shall provide premium financing to non-salaried persons to enable them to pay their annual contributions within the intervals under which their income becomes available.
Those whom the means testing tool determines to fall in or below the threshold of Ksh 300 will contribute the base premium of Ksh300.
The government will also contribute for those who apply for a subsidy if they fall below this threshold.
Data will be collected on non-salaried households to determine and estimate the household’s ability to pay SHIF contributions based on housing characteristics, accessibility to basic services and household composition and characteristics.
Deductions for Employees on Pay slips
Salaried employees shall pay a monthly statutory deduction contribution to the Social Health Insurance Fund at a rate of 2.75% of the gross salary or wage of the household.
An employer shall deduct the contribution of a salaried contributor and submit the contribution to the Authority on behalf of the employee at the rate provided by the ninth day of each month.
Also Read: Biggest Winners in the Switch from NHIF to SHA & Benefits They Will Get
Also to note, the amount payable every month under shall not, in any case, be less than Kenya shillings three hundred (Ksh 300) per month.
For example, a person earning Ksh.20,000 per month will now pay Ksh 550 monthly and Ksh.6,600 annually.
At the same time someone earning Ksh.100,000 per month, the contribution rises from the previous Ksh.1,700 to Ksh.2,750 monthly.
There is no cap on contributions under SHA; for instance, a person earning Ksh.500,000 monthly will pay Ksh.13,750 each month, totaling Ksh.165,000 annually.
Furthermore, a top corporate executive earning up to Ksh.10 million per month will be deducted Ksh.275,000 monthly or Ksh.3.3 million per year.
Monthly and Annual Contributions for Salaried Employees
| Employee Monthly Income in Ksh | Monthly Contributions in Ksh | Annual Contributions in Ksh |
| 15,000 | 412.5 | 4,950 |
| 20,000 | 550 | 6,600 |
| 30,000 | 825 | 9900 |
| 50,000 | 1,375 | 16,500 |
| 100,000 | 2,750 | 33,000 |
| 200,000 | 5,500 | 66,000 |
| 300,000 | 8,250 | 99,000 |
| 500,000 | 13,750 | 165,000 |
| 1,000,000 | 27,500 | 330,000 |
| 10,000,000 | 275,000 | 3,300,000 |
Notably, any person who fails to pay any contribution in respect of any period on or before the day on which payment is due shall be liable to a penalty.
This will be equal to two percent (2%) of the amount due of the contribution for the period in which the contribution remains unpaid and the total annual contributions.
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- President William Ruto and Health CS Dr Deborah Barasa. Photo/ PCs
