Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Council of Governors (CoG) Health Committee have agreed that the current contracts between the Social Health Authority (SHA) and health facilities will not be extended beyond October 14, 2026.
The decision was reached during a meeting held on October 5 between the Ministry of Health, CoG, SHA, the Digital Health Agency (DHA), health regulators and other stakeholders.
The meeting was chaired by Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and focused on the ongoing SHA 2026-2029 contracting process, HAKIKA and other challenges affecting the health sector.
The current SHA contracts had been extended to October 14 after the earlier deadline passed.
The national and county governments said eligible public health facilities must complete the contracting process within the new deadline to continue providing services to SHA beneficiaries.
To help facilities complete the process, SHA will set up HAKIKA contracting clinics in every county until October 14.
The authority will also provide weekly updates to the Council of Governors on the progress made until all eligible facilities are contracted.
A Joint Technical Committee bringing together SHA, CoG and county health officials will oversee the process and deal with technical and operational challenges that may arise.
Facilities to Keep Individual SHA Contracts
Under the agreement, each county health facility will continue to have its own contract with SHA.
Payments will also continue to be made to the respective Facility Improvement Financing accounts of the facilities.
To reduce delays in the contracting process, SHA will accept relevant documents already held by county governments.
Facilities that have met other contracting requirements will be given 30 days to submit outstanding documents from agencies including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), fire safety authorities, National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
However, the additional 30 days will not remove the facilities’ obligation to comply with the law.
The stakeholders also agreed that health facilities must meet regulatory requirements and maintain the required standards of care and patient safety.
Facilities must have valid licences for the services they provide, including laboratory, pharmacy and imaging services.
The licences are issued by the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB), Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) and Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KENRA), respectively.
Facilities will only be contracted for services for which they have the required licences.
Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals will have three months to meet compulsory laboratory licensing requirements.
SHA Sets 90-Day Claims Payment Target
The meeting also discussed the payment of claims submitted by health facilities.
SHA agreed that clean claims will be paid within 90 days after they are received, following the order in which they were submitted.
Where available funds are not enough to settle clean claims, the unpaid amounts will be recognised as certified liabilities and carried forward for payment within the same financial year, subject to availability of appropriated funds.
The stakeholders further discussed digital health systems, data protection and the security of county health information.
They also reviewed the rollout of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board’s track-and-trace system.
The Council of Governors committed to supporting Level 5 hospitals to complete their transition to the Health Management Information System (HMIS) by October 30, 2026.
SHA is also expected to meet County Executive Committee Members for Health on October 6 to improve coordination and speed up the rollout of HAKIKA across the counties.
The meeting ended with the signing of a Joint Communiqué on the contracting of county public health facilities under the SHA 2026-2029 cycle.
The agreement commits the national and county governments, SHA and other stakeholders to completing the contracting process while improving accountability and ensuring eligible public facilities can continue serving SHA beneficiaries.