MPs debate Bill to outlaw hospital detention of patients, bodies over unpaid bills

The Health (Amendment) Bill, National Assembly Bill No. 56 of 2024, sponsored by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina, seeks to criminalise demands for prepayment before emergency treatment and the retention of bodies as collateral for debt in public healthcare facilities.

Moving the Bill on Wednesday, Maina told MPs that the legislation targets “two urgent issues affecting Kenyans: the practice of demanding prepayment before providing emergency medical treatment, and the detention of dead bodies by hospitals and mortuaries as collateral for unpaid medical bills.”

The proposed amendments to the Health Act (Cap 241) are intended to give practical effect to Article 43(2) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to emergency medical treatment, and Article 28, which safeguards the right to human dignity.

Maina argued that the current legal framework remains inadequate despite constitutional protections and past court rulings.

“The current situation is insufficient and fails to ensure all Kenyans are treated equally, violating their right to dignity and access to healthcare as per the Constitution,” she said.

The Bill expands the definition of emergency care to include treatment at the scene of an incident, during transportation, and throughout a patient’s hospital admission, effectively closing gaps that have allowed facilities to delay care pending payment. It also places an explicit duty on public healthcare providers to ensure that financial considerations do not hinder the provision of life-saving treatment.

To enforce compliance, the legislation introduces stiff penalties. Public facilities that demand prepayment before providing emergency treatment would face fines of up to Ksh.3 million. 

In addition, any public officer who authorises or facilitates the detention of a body over unpaid bills would be liable to a fine of up to Ksh.2 million.

The Bill applies specifically to public health facilities, a scope agreed upon during consultations with parliamentary committees and government departments involved in drafting the legislation.

Maina noted that Kenyan courts, particularly the High Court, have previously declared the detention of bodies for non-payment unlawful, emphasising that human remains cannot be treated as commercial assets.

“Our courts … have pronounced themselves on this matter and recognised that bodies cannot be sold for profit,” she said, adding that the practice nonetheless persists, often causing emotional distress to families in order to compel payment.

The legislator said the push for reform was informed by repeated cases of families unable to bury loved ones or take newborns home due to outstanding hospital bills, exposing the gap between universal health coverage ambitions and lived realities.

She cited a public notice by Kenyatta National Hospital indicating that 262 bodies had gone unclaimed over the past year, including 124 cases recorded in June 2025 alone, many linked to families’ inability to settle medical costs.

Among the cases highlighted was that of Caroline Chetu, whose body was reportedly held at Mathare Hospital for more than two months after her sons were unable to raise a Ksh.3.3 million bill.

Maina also recounted the case of Kelvin, a former medical student who later turned to the boda boda business and was killed in a road accident. His body was detained for nearly a year at a funeral home over a Ksh.1.42 million hospital bill.

Having provided pro bono legal assistance in Kelvin’s case, Maina told the House she had “witnessed the heartbreak of a mother unable to bury her son with dignity.”

“This Bill is not mere rhetoric or politics,” she said. “It is a crucial step towards addressing the profound suffering faced by many Kenyans.”

The proposed law now proceeds to further parliamentary debate and consideration before a final vote in the National Assembly, where lawmakers will determine whether to entrench the protections into statute as part of broader health sector reforms.