The Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has announced it will suspend Social Health Authority (SHA) services starting Monday citing system failures, unpaid NHIF arrears and an impracticable outpatient reimbursement model.
Addressing the media Thursday, RUPHA chairperson Dr. Brian Lishenga said that challenges surrounding the new healthcare system have been ignored, endangering the lives of patients.
Lishenga added that the persistent glitches in the system and continued lack of responsiveness by the Authority is now threatening the survival of health facilities due to a weak service provision.
“This decision has not been made lightly, it follows months of failed engagements and unfulfilled promises and growing financial distress threatening the very survival of healthcare institutions in Kenya” Lishenga said.
Dr. Lishenga intimated that only 54% of hospitals have not received payments from SHA, 89% of facilities have reported SHA portal failures, and 83% of hospitals have reported serious difficulties in verifying patient eligibility due to SHA’s system glitches.
RUPHA now wants the government to settle a Ksh30 billion debt in NHIF arrears in full, to revise and streamline the SHA outpatient reimbursement model and ensure fair and timely payment under medical administrator Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL).
“We have unpaid debt dating back to 2017, hospitals are facing bank defaults, we have stock out of essential medicines and many consultants haven’t been paid for years,” he stated.
