Crisis at Nairobi Womens Hospital after insurance firms suspend covering patient services

Nairobi Women’s Hospital is on the spot over reports of cost inflation in its facilities.

Insurance companies among them AAR, Old Mutual and CIC have suspended payment of bills in the nine branches of the hospital citing administrative concerns.

With nine branches across the country and close to two decades of practice, Nairobi Women’s Hospital had established itself as one of the most sought after facilities up until complaints of unprocedural charges and admissions surfaced.

The hospital’s founder Dr. Sam Thenya says they are in talks with the insurers to resolve the crisis.

“Unfortunately that is the decision they made, I don’t know why but we are in conversation with the insurers as they have suspended engaging with all our branches… But we remain focused in our service to our customers,” said Dr. Thenya.

Allegations came to the fore in mid January, that Nairobi women’s hospital was among private facilities that made a habit of charging patients with insurance covers exorbitantly, an allegation the hospital denies

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council is also conducting independent scrutiny into the allegations Of misconduct within the facility.

On Monday, the hospital’s board of directors said it has commenced an internal probe into claims that medical officers at the hospital have been colluding to unfairly generate revenue from patients.

“We have noted with a lot of concern reports appearing in various media platforms in the recent past suggesting that there is some systematic approach by the hospital to unfairly generate revenue from patients,” said the board.

“Although we don’t believe this is the case, and in fact it is antithetical to our foundational principles, we take these allegations very seriously and are conducting an internal review as well as cooperating with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council as they carry out their independent review.”