Exit Minet, enters SHA medical cover for tutors

More than 400,000 teachers and their dependents will be transitioned from the  Minet Kenya-administered medical cover to the newly established Social Health Authority (SHA).

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced by December 1, 2025, teachers will now be under the government’s universal health coverage, ending the four years’ service by the service provider.

The move follows President William Ruto’s directive after meeting teacher representatives last week, where he raised concerns over the cost and inadequacy of the current scheme.

TSC Acting CEO Everleen Mitei, appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee, confirmed that a Technical Working Group comprising the National Treasury, the Attorney General’s Office, the Police Service, and SHA has been formed to handle legal and budgetary frameworks for the transition.

“It is proposed that teachers will be on-boarded to the new scheme under SHA from December 1, 2025, once all consultations and frameworks are finalized,” Mitei said.

She added that the current Minet scheme remains operational until then to ensure continuity.

Speaking at State House, Nairobi when he met teachers representatives on September 13, the President emphasized that teachers deserve a medical cover comparable to that of other public officers. He faulted the Minet scheme, saying it has become both costly and ineffective.

“Access to inpatient services by teachers is lower than the market. Data on your medical scheme shows that, on average, it costs Sh117,000 per inpatient visit, whereas the market average is Ksh100,000 and for civil servants it is Sh98,000. That means you pay more on every visit, so we cannot continue with this medical cover as it is,” President Ruto stated.

The President directed the Ministry of Education to work with health professionals and teacher unions to  review the scheme and align it with the Public Service Medical Fund under SHA.

“We have engaged with your leaders and they say we are going to consult members. Now that you are here, can we review? Yes,” he told the gathering of 10,000 teachers.

The existing scheme, which expires on November 30, 2025, currently covers 1.3 million beneficiaries, comprising over 400,000 teachers, 230,000 spouses, and 677,000 children.

It provides inpatient, outpatient, dental, optical, maternity, evacuation, and funeral services. Recent enhancements increased inpatient cover to Sh1 million for teachers in Job Group B5 and Sh3 million for those in Job Group D5.

Outpatient and maternity covers were also revised upwards.

Despite these improvements, teachers have persistently raised complaints about delayed approvals, being turned away at hospitals, limited facilities, and out-of-pocket drug purchases. Parliament’s Education Committee has also expressed doubts about the sustainability and efficiency of the Minet-administered consortium.

Committee Chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly told TSC officials that the current arrangement is untenable.

“What kind of insurance cover is this? It is a mongrel. It has no head or tail. You are getting an insurer, a lead consortium, as an administrator and a capitator. Very funny type of insurance. You must get out of this thing,” Melly said.

Kibra MP Peter Orero echoed the frustrations of teachers who often find themselves without essential medicines.

“Teachers have complained that whenever they visit approved hospitals, they are not given medicine and are required to buy drugs elsewhere out of pocket,” Orero noted.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) welcomed the President’s intervention. Secretary General Collins Oyuu said the directive was a result of expert advice.

“The president said the scheme must be retained at all costs after engaging experts who told him the packages offered to teachers are inadequate and don’t cover principal members and their dependents fully,” Oyuu said.

Lawmakers, however, pressed for assurances that teachers will not face reduced benefits during the transition. Committee Vice Chair Hon. Eve Obara warned, “We cannot afford a downgrade of benefits. Teachers have long complained of delays and denials; SHA must guarantee better services.”