Gov’t warns private hospitals refusing to use SHA system risk blacklisting

Two days after President William Ruto asked private hospitals to finalize enrollment with the Social Health Authority (SHA), 50% of private medical facilities onboard have been accused of denying services to Kenyans registered under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) scheme.

Speaking in Mombasa, Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai stated that these facilities are deliberately refusing to use the system and are demanding cash from poor Kenyans, further warning that the facilities risk being blacklisted.

“There are those who are giving us excuses that the system is not working properly - some very flimsy excuses. But now we want to publish them as the ones who have been contracted so that if a Kenyan goes there and is asked for cash up front, he will tell us the one who is demanding cash upfront and we will take action against that particular facility," said PS Kimtai.

Since the rollout three weeks ago, there has been a public outcry regarding the new system of healthcare provision, which has led to patients having to dig into their pockets when they were previously covered by National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

The latest implementation hurdles continue to pile pressure on the government to address emerging challenges.

“Some of these facilities are deliberately refusing to use the system - not that the system is not working. A case in point is that for dialysis patients they use the system; for other patients, they don’t," said the PS.

The 47 county technical steering committees that have been established are expected to visit more than 7,000 health facilities registered with the Social Health Authority.

The campaign will be spearheaded by County Commissioners and County Health Executive Committee Members (CECMs) to ensure smooth implementation of the new system in the counties.

“We are also involving faith-based organizations in every county so that everyone can see how this rollout is progressing in each unit," said Josephine Onunga, County Commissioner, Taita Taveta.

“The first problem is a technical issue that was fixed immediately. The second problem is people learning to use the equipment, which is why we are going hospital by hospital training doctors and nurses on how to use this new equipment, which is better than what we used before," SHA CEO Elijah Wachira added.

Kimtai added: “Anybody who says they are not aware then they are not working in that particular county because CECMs have taken the responsibility of ensuring facilities within their county provide services under SHA.”

With Ksh.1.5 billion released last week, the government says another Ksh.3 billion will be released to health facilities owed by the government, and pending bills will be settled within 90 days in the future.