Teachers and police officers under insurance financed by government institutions like the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will be denied treatment in a section of hospitals starting Monday next week.
All hospitals under the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) made a statement on Thursday morning that they plan to withhold medical attention for civil servants until their debt is cleared.
According to RUPHA, the move was as a result of the fact that the insurer had not paid for services done in the previous year.
“We will stop providing medical services to police and teachers using the government insurance from Monday,” announced Rev Joseph Kariuki, Deputy Chairperson, RUPHA.
The umbrella body went ahead to warn that they will withdraw treatment for patients using the Social Health Authority (SHA). According to RUPHA, this is the last result to force the government to improve the services being offered under SHA.
“No services to teachers, police, and SHA patients from Monday until the government honours our demands,” said Kariuki.
RUPHA is demanding that the government clears all pending bills accumulated under the old National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) from 2017.
As of December last year, the government owed approximately Ksh29 billion to private hospitals. RUPHA says that despite the government’s promise to clear the debt, it will not continue services unless there is a clear plan for making the payments.
“Why is it that the Treasury does not value the lives of Kenyans,” the RUPHA chairperson asked.
The body says its members have had their hospitals auctioned, lost employees, and, as a result, some specialists have refused to offer services. Doctors are now saying they will not treat patients without paying cash,” Rev Kariuki revealed.
The hospitals are also demanding that the government review the Global Budget Capitation being used for outpatients. Global budget capitation is a healthcare payment model where providers receive a fixed, predetermined amount to cover all necessary services for a specific population over a set period.
This approach aims to control costs, promote efficient resource use, and enhance care quality by incentivizing providers to focus on preventive measures and effective management of chronic conditions. According to the medics, the government has placed a capitation of Ksh900 which translates to about Ksh75 per person, per month.
RUPHA wants the capitation reviewed and changed. SHA has been problematic since its launch in October last year, with the government acknowledging the challenges and promising a top-down review.
