Teachers’ Healthcare Crisis Deepens as Government Fails to Remit Medical Funds

Teachers’ Healthcare Crisis Deepens as Government Fails to Remit Medical Funds.

Emuhaya MP and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) National Chairman Omboko Milemba has expressed concern over the government’s failure to remit funds to the teachers’ medical scheme.

Addressing Parliament yesterday while seeking a statement on the delayed teachers’ medical fund from the National Assembly Education Committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, Milemba emphasized that the delay violated teachers’ right to healthcare as outlined in Article 43(1) of the Constitution.

He asserted that this failure not only undermined their dignity but also negatively impacted their productivity.

Milemba reported that teachers across the country were experiencing a healthcare crisis due to the government’s inability to remit funds to the Teachers’ Medical Scheme (Minet Kenya). He noted that this failure had left over 300,000 teachers and their dependents without access to medical services.

Despite monthly salary deductions and a 2.7 per cent contribution to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), hospitals had ceased offering services since September 2024 due to non-payment.

He stressed that while teachers faithfully contributed to the fund, they were now being denied essential healthcare services. He urged the government to take immediate action to prevent further suffering among teachers and their families.

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Questions Raised on Missing Funds and Outstanding Debt

Milemba demanded clarification on several key issues, including the reasons why funds deducted from teachers’ salaries had not been disbursed, the status of the Ksh11 billion owed to hospitals, the total amount remitted in the 2024/2025 financial year, and the outstanding balance.

He also called for concrete measures to ensure the timely and consistent disbursement of funds moving forward.

Incidents of teachers being turned away from hospitals due to the government’s failure to remit funds have been on the rise.

Recently, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) raised concerns after the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) services were suspended for teachers at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet. The situation continues to worsen, leaving thousands of educators stranded without medical care.

Teachers’ Healthcare Crisis Deepens as Government Fails to Remit Medical Funds

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