The government has warned private hospitals denying kenyans services under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will be blacklisted.
Speaking in Mombasa, Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai expressed concern that these hospitals deliberately avoid the system and demand cash payments from poor patients despite their SHIF coverage.
Kimtai warned that facilities continuing this practice face the risk of being blacklisted.
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“There are some offering excuses about system malfunctions, but these are often flimsy. We intend to publicly list the facilities that have been contracted so that Kenyans can report any hospital demanding upfront cash payments. We will take action against such facilities,” Kimtai said.
Since the new healthcare system was introduced three weeks ago, the public has made numerous complaints, particularly from patients previously covered under the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), who now have to pay out-of-pocket.
These challenges pressure the government to address the system’s implementation issues.
“Some hospitals refuse to use the system for non-dialysis patients, even though it works perfectly for dialysis cases,” added Kimtai.
47 county technical steering committees have been formed to ensure the smooth implementation of the new system. Along with County Commissioners and County Health Executive Committee Members (CECMs), these committees will visit over 7,000 facilities registered with the SHA.
Josephine Onunga, county commissioner for Taita Taveta, said faith-based organizations will also monitor progress across all counties.
SHA CEO Elijah Wachira acknowledged initial technical issues but assured that these have been resolved. Hospital staff training on the new system is ongoing to ensure efficient use.
The government recently released Ksh.1.5 billion and plans to disburse an additional Ksh 3 billion within the next 90 days to settle outstanding bills.
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