The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced new measures to enforce employed compliance with Social Health Authority (SHA) contributions by integrating them into Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) payroll systems.
The Cabinet Secretary of Health, Deborah Barasa made this announcement to the senators, highlighting that her ministry will deploy SHA compliance officers to conduct “random employer audits” and track remittance status. Adding that it will also mandate payroll integration with human resource (HR) software providers such as Oracle and QuickBooks for automated deductions.
She noted that the Social Health Authority (SHA) plans is to meet the Ksh.102 billion Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) revenue budget for the 2025/26 financial year.
Additionally, she declared that to strengthen compliance, the ministry is also linking SHA registration with key government agencies, including the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), National Social Security Fund (NSSF), National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), Huduma Namba, and the National Registration Bureau (NRB), aiming to enhance member identification.
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“Send SHA compliance updates via official corporate emails; send personalised reminders to employers for timely remittances; engage professionals through LinkedIn, webinars, and industry roundtables,” the minister said.
As part of its enforcement strategy, the MoH is introducing financial penalties for non-compliant employers while expanding SHA payment channels to include bank payments, agency banking, and payroll-linked deductions.
Speaking about how to make Kenyans register for SHA, Barasa reiterated collaboration with informal sectors such as trade unions and co-operatives, providing targeted subsidies for “the elderly, poor, and vulnerable”, and offer incentives for early adopters “to create a sense of urgency.”
