•This comes after some private hospitals introduced cash charges for services fully covered by the NHIF claiming the insurer has failed to pay them since June
•These are facilities affiliated to the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), a sector lobby for 400 hospitals
Image: MOH/FILE
The government will from Monday release money owed to health facilities across the country to ensure uninterrupted provision of services.
The target is to ensure at least Sh3 billion is disbursed to health facilities across the country before the end of the year.
This comes after some private hospitals introduced cash charges for services fully covered by the National Health Insurance Fund claiming the insurer has failed to pay them since June.
These are facilities affiliated to the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), a sector lobby for 400 hospitals.
The decision to release funds follows the expiration of a seven-day notice issued by RUPHA on December 8, 2023.
At that time, RUPHA claimed that NHIF owed its member hospitals over Sh15 billion, highlighting the financial strain faced by these healthcare providers.
Addressing concerns surrounding delayed payments to healthcare facilities, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha reaffirmed the ministry's dedication to ensuring prompt fund disbursement.
"I can confirm that payments totaling Sh2.9 billion have been disbursed between July, August, September, November, up to the 15th of December," Nakhumicha said.
"I assure healthcare facilities of the ministry's commitment to disburse a total of Sh3 billion to all facilities by the end of the year with the payments scheduled to commence on Monday," she added.
The CS emphasised that the NHIF has contracts with 8,000 hospitals, 80 per cent of which provide comprehensive healthcare services and processes an average of 4,000 transactions per month.
Dr Brian Lishenga, the lobby chairman said the debt has had a detrimental impact on the quality of healthcare services nationwide, leading to financial strain on hospital suppliers.
Lishenga said NHIF has failed to pay or underpaid for services rendered over the last eight months, with payouts for medical and surgical admissions ranging from five-10 per cent of valid claims.
“Contractual quarterly capitation payments for outpatient services have not been remitted for the October-December quarter, and the Linda Mama scheme has not made payments since June 2023,” he said at a press conference in Nairobi.