If you have seen reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is shutting down, you may be wondering whether Kenya is about to get another new health insurance system.
SHA is not shutting down – not in that sense anyway – what is changing is the digital system that healthcare providers use to interact with SHA. The government is phasing out the SHA Provider Portal and moving health facilities to a Health Management Information System (HMIS).
The change took effect as part of a wider push towards a more integrated digital health system, but the transition is still ongoing.
Let’s take a look at the developments.
1. Is SHA shutting down?
No. The Social Health Authority continues to operate and is in fact entering a new three year contracting cycle covering 2026 to 2029. The Ministry of Health launched the new HAKIKA contracting framework in September, alongside a new electronic contracting platform for healthcare providers.
What is being phased out is the SHA Provider Portal, not SHA itself.
The confusion appears to have grown after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced that the Provider Portal would be closed as healthcare facilities moved to HMIS.
2. So, what exactly is being shut down?
The SHA Provider Portal is being phased out as the main digital interface through which healthcare facilities interact with the Authority.
Instead, facilities are being required to use certified Health Management Information Systems that can connect with the national digital health infrastructure.
The Ministry says the SHA HMIS will support functions including patient verification, electronic claims management, provider authentication and secure exchange of health information.
In simple terms, this is a change in the technology and systems used to administer SHA services, rather than the closure of SHA itself.
3. What is HMIS and why is SHA moving to it?
HMIS stands for Health Management Information System, and refers to digital systems used by healthcare facilities to manage health information and administrative processes. Under the new arrangement, facilities are expected to have systems that meet national requirements and can connect with the wider digital health infrastructure.
The government says the transition is intended to create a more integrated and paperless health system, while improving claims processing, accountability and the exchange of health information.
The transition has been underway for months. The Ministry said in June that thousands of facilities had already moved to the new system.
4. What does this mean for SHA members?
For ordinary SHA members, the immediate message from the Ministry is that you should continue accessing healthcare services as usual.
The government has specifically said that patients should not be denied treatment simply because the facility they visit has not completed its transition to HMIS.
The latest update also gives some facilities additional time to complete the migration.
According to the Ministry, all 6,427 public Level 2 to 4 facilities have completed the transition. Some Level 5 facilities, faith-based facilities and private facilities are still completing the process, with the government providing technical support.
The extended deadline for facilities still transitioning is October 30, 2026.
That means the change is not a situation where SHA members suddenly lose their cover because the Provider Portal is being phased out.
5. Will SHA itself be renamed?
There is no indication in the latest official announcements that SHA is being renamed.
The Ministry of Health and SHA continue to refer to the organisation as the Social Health Authority, while the new system is referred to as the SHA Health Management Information System, or SHA HMIS.
The change may sound like another major overhaul of the country’s health insurance system, but the announcement currently on the table is about how SHA operates digitally, not about replacing SHA itself.
For SHA members, the practical question is therefore not whether SHA is disappearing, but how smoothly the ongoing transition works at the hospitals and health facilities they use.
