{
  "id": 10395096,
  "title": "Hospitals put under SHA contract pressure as September 30 deadline nears",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/hospitals-put-under-sha-contract-pressure-as-september-30-deadline",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T07:46:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/news/hospitals-put-under-sha-contract-pressure-as-september-30-deadline-nears"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Healthcare providers across the nation face a looming deadline from the Social Health Authority (SHA) as current provider contracts are set to expire on September 30, 2026. The SHA has announced that existing contracts will cease at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, leaving healthcare facilities with a limited window to finalize new contracts for the 2026–2029 contracting cycle. On September 28, the authority issued a warning, stating that only facilities with executed contracts will be allowed to serve SHA beneficiaries starting October 1. This deadline has placed pressure on hospitals and healthcare facilities that have begun the contracting process but have yet to meet all the necessary requirements.\n\nAs of September 27, 2026, SHA reported that 7,244 healthcare facilities had submitted their Expressions of Interest for the new contracting cycle; however, the authority emphasized that submitting an Expression of Interest does not equate to a contract. SHA clarified, \"Submitting an Expression of Interest does not constitute a contract,\" underscoring that facilities must finalize the contracting process and secure an executed agreement before they can continue providing services to SHA beneficiaries from October 1. Failure to do so will result in loss of access to the SHA provider portal after the deadline.\n\nThe warning from SHA not only highlights the administrative aspect of the contracting process but also introduces a patient care dimension. Facilities that have not completed the contracting process are now required to make arrangements to transfer patients receiving ongoing care to contracted providers to ensure continuity of treatment. This directive adds a critical layer to the contracting exercise, emphasizing the need for healthcare providers to not only submit their applications but also ensure that their contracts are fully executed before the deadline.\n\nSHA's data reveals that Level 2 facilities lead in Expressions of Interest with 3,512 submissions, followed by Level 3A with 1,751, Level 3B with 885, Level 4/4A with 814, Level 5A with 95, and including 123 Level 4B, 51 Level 3C, 10 Level 6B, and three Level 6A facilities. While these figures represent progress in the new contracting cycle, they do not guarantee continued access to SHA services without fully executing the contracts. The deadline of 11:59 PM on September 30 adds urgency to the situation, with providers now racing against time to complete all necessary contractual requirements to avoid losing their SHA provider status.",
  "summary": "Hospitals and other healthcare providers face a hard Social Health Authority (SHA) contracting deadline as the expiry of current provider contracts approaches on September 30, 2026. SHA has warned healthcare facilities that existing provider contracts will expire at 11:59PM on Wednesday, September 30, leaving providers with a narrow window to complete new contracts for the […]",
  "key_points": [
    "SHA contracts for healthcare providers expire September 30, 2026",
    "7,244 facilities submitted Expressions of Interest, but contracts required",
    "Facilities without executed contracts lose SHA services October 1"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}