- More than 600 private hospitals warn they may only accept cash from patients.
- Rural-Urban and Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) says facilities are owed Ksh 22 billion.
- Arrears date back to 2017 under NHIF, now dissolved.
- Hospitals struggling with staff layoffs, debts, and medicine shortages.
- Patients, including teachers and police, are being forced to pay out of pocket.
Over 600 private hospitals across rural Kenya have threatened to stop accepting the Social Health Authority (SHA) card unless billions in unpaid bills are cleared. The hospitals say they will instead demand direct cash payments from patients.
According to the Rural-Urban and Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), the government owes facilities more than Ksh 22 billion in arrears carried over from the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
RUPHA chair Dr. Brian Lishenga said hospitals are facing financial collapse.
“Facilities have been pushed to the brink, with unpaid claims forcing defaults on loans, staff layoffs, and medicine shortages,” he stated.
The debt crisis, some of which dates back as far as 2017, has severely disrupted healthcare delivery in rural areas.
The situation is worsened by the SHA distancing itself from the debt, saying it cannot take responsibility for NHIF’s arrears. This has deepened mistrust between hospitals and the government.
Hospitals also argue that the current SHA modelpaying less than Ksh 75 per outpatient per month unrealistic and unsustainable.
With hospitals suspending SHA services, many patients, including public servants such as teachers and police officers, are being turned away or forced to pay out-of-pocket.
One teacher shared how they had to pay Ksh 78,000 for treatment that should have been covered by SHA.
