The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced that teachers across the country will move to a new medical insurance scheme provided by the Social Health Authority.
The Commission informed that teachers would be moved to the new scheme by December 1, 2025, as the current scheme provided by a local private insurance company nears its expiry.
While detailing the new scheme, TSC said that teachers would be enrolled in the Public Service Fund, where they would enjoy a premium SHA medical cover.
The premium supplements and extends beyond the core SHA benefits for public officers.
In the new scheme, teachers will get access to outpatient and inpatient services; specialised services such as dental and optical care; annual checkups; ambulance services, for both road and emergency, air-rescue; overseas treatment; group life; and last expenses.
The scheme covers the principal member, spouse, and up to six dependents.
The latest comes days after a meeting between President William Ruto and representatives of teachers at State House. Teachers aired their grievances to Ruto including dispute over their medical scheme.
However, the shift comes despite teachers rejecting the move, citing lamentations by other civil servants, such as the police, regarding SHA’s misgivings while seeking medical treatment.
Led by Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Nakuru boss Anthony Gioshe, the teachers vowed to reject any move by the Ministry of Health to onboard them to the government scheme.
While urging teachers to reject any move to be onboarded in SHA, Gioshe disclosed that teachers did not have faith in the new medical insurance scheme.
“We have heard a story from the government that they want to move us into SHA. We have no problem with the Social Health Authority, but we are saying this, we will not go there,” Gioshe noted.
Further, Gioshe called for an independent cover for teachers, referencing the vast teacher workforce employed by the State.
In rejecting the proposed move to SHA, teachers argued that the existing cover was extensive, covering the teacher, their spouse, and up to four children.
They argued members could access services without a physical medical card, using their payroll number or biometric verification at accredited hospitals in the scheme.
The teachers also raised the issue of the 2.75 per cent mandatory SHA deduction of one’s gross income or household income, which they contended clashed with the existing cover, resulting in a double taxation on their payslips.