Afya House, Ministry of Health Headquarters in Nairobi/ PHOTO COURTESY.
Healthcare providers are now demanding payment transparency, asking the Ministry of Health to publish the names of the hospitals that have since been paid and the amount.
They further went on to call on the government to publish a breakdown of payments to hospitals and revenue collected from Kenyans since the launch of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) in October 2024.
While citing the growing frustration over delayed reimbursements and the financial strain on facilities, the healthcare providers added that Health ministry officials keep announcing figures that are not reflected in hospitals.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai said that they had released Sh3.2 billion to hospitals and only those with technical problems had not received funds.
“We have paid over Sh3.2 billion for SHA claims. A few facilities have not received money due to technical challenges like account not matching or facilities names different from the bank details as submitted during empanelling,” Mr Kimtai said.
However, the chairperson of Rural Urban Private Hospitals Association, Dr. Brian Lishenga repudiated the claims, affirming that no cent has been sent to healthcare providers.
“We have not received any substantive amount for the services we’ve rendered under SHA,” said Dr Lishenga.
“Hospitals are being paid as little as Sh5, 000, which is grossly insufficient. If the government claims to have disbursed Sh3.2 billion, as they say, they should publish a breakdown of these payments. We are demanding answers. We want to know not only which hospitals have been paid but also how much revenue SHA has collected from Kenyans since October,” said the chairperson.
He said that the majority of hospitals receiving the little payment are the national referral and county hospitals county. The lower-level hospitals, many of which were on-boarded late, are struggling to survive.
“Rural and lower-tier public hospitals are bearing the brunt of payment delays, leaving them unable to procure essential supplies or pay staff,” Dr Lishenga said.
SHA which is a replacement of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) launched in October 2024 was supposed to provide better health services, broader access and greater efficiency, but seem to be facing a rocky situation which has brought nothing but pain to patients and their families as the government is trying to put measures in place to make it work.
“There is no cash in health facilities at the grassroots level,” Dr Lishenga explained. “Public hospitals, already overwhelmed by patient demand, are now grappling with the frustration of delivering care without the promised support.”
“Under NHIF, we knew how much was collected and which hospitals received payments,” Dr Lishenga noted. “Why is SHA so different? The lack of transparency is creating distrust among healthcare providers and threatening the scheme’s viability.”
He said that if the frustration persists, hospitals will be compelled to collect cash payments from Kenyans and suspend the SHIF programme until the situation stabilises , emphasizing that hospitals are currently facing costs that may not be reimbursed by the fund.
