The government will fully pay all health facilities with claims of Sh10 million and below contracted by the now defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
President William Ruto made the announcement on Wednesday after a meeting.
He said the claims affecting public, faith-based and private hospitals equate to 91 percent of the total facilities under NHIF.
He however noted that hospitals with claims above Sh10 million will undergo a verification exercise that should be completed within 90 days, after which a payment plan will be agreed on.
“The remaining 9 per cent of hospitals, with total claims of above Ksh.10 million, will be subjected to a verification exercise that should be completed within 90 days, after which a payment plan will be agreed on,” stated Ruto.
“The Cabinet Secretary will gazette the verification committee within a week.”
In a bid to address the standoff in the newly launched Social Health Authority (SHA), the government also committed to settle all pending arrears on a monthly basis, noting that so far, Sh18.2 billion of all undisputed claims had been paid.
“Under the Social Health Authority, current claims will continue to be paid within a month. To date, SHA has paid all undisputed claims lodged since its inception on October 1, 2024, and up to January 31, 2025, totaling Ksh.18.2 billion,” added the President.
“The government is fully committed to providing Universal Health Coverage to every Kenyan without discrimination. I would like to assure all Kenyans that any challenges being experienced in the implementation of Taifa Care are being attended to and resolved.”
Since its inception in November last year, Taifa Care has faced criticism over system failures in hospitals, with a majority of Kenyans calling for its abolishment.
Ruto has, however, defended the new digital healthcare system, saying it will curb the fraud that paralysed NHIF.
He maintained that most of the negative publicity on SHA comes from those who used loopholes to loot the NHIF, consuming up to 40 per cent of the fund.
Ruto said no amount of propaganda will force the government to go back to NHIF, and thus give crooks another chance to continue stealing public funds.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) want a total overhaul of the Social Health Authority (SHA).
They said patients are suffering while seeking medical care in facilities across the country.
On Tuesday, the two unions also issued a two-week ultimatum, threatening nationwide protests by civil servants from both county and national governments if their concerns are not addressed.
Led by KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atela and UKCS Secretary General Tom Odege, the unions criticized SHA’s inefficiency and accused the government of failing to follow through on its promises regarding the scheme.
They said more than five million Kenyans are at risk of missing critical medical services due to the ineffective systems in place at SHA.
“The current leadership at SHA is weak, and for its success, leadership must be changed,” said Atela.
“Public servants are contributing twice to the medical scheme, yet they are not receiving services commensurate with the deductions. We cannot sit and watch our members continue fundraising for medical expenses while their contributions are being mismanaged,” Odege said.
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