Faith-based hospitals have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government demanding payment of Ksh10 billion in outstanding debts owed by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the Social Health Authority (SHA), and the Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL).
The Kenya Faith-Based Health Services Consortium (KFBHSC), comprising the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK), and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) warned that failure to clear the debts by March 21, 2025, will force them to suspend services for scheme beneficiaries and only accept cash payments.
The outstanding claims include Ksh6.8 billion under NHIF, Ksh2.2 billion under SHA, and Ksh1 billion owed by MAKL, which covers medical schemes for police officers, teachers, and prison staff.
“The financial distress has made it impossible to pay staff salaries, suppliers, and other operational costs. If these funds are not paid in full, faith-based hospitals ill have no option but to suspend services for scheme beneficiaries,” the consortium said in a statement.
Faith-based organizations operate 1,300 hospitals across all 47 counties and account for about 40% of healthcare services nationwide with most of the facilities undergoing severe financial distress due to unpaid claims, some dating back to 2016.
While President William Ruto on Wednesday pledged to immediately pay hospitals owed Ksh10 million and below, the faith-based health providers argue that the amount is insufficient, as most large facilities offering specialised care remain unpaid.
“This is grossly inadequate to relief the cashflow distress among the faith-based Hospitals. The ones left unpaid handle the more complicated diseases, specialised surgeries, Critical patients which are costly and life- saving,” they said.
The providers also called for urgent reforms in SHA’s claims processing system, citing inefficiencies and prolonged delays that have worsened the cash flow crisis.
