Private hospitals are threatening to suspend critical services — including cancer treatment, dialysis and chronic surgical procedures — following months of delayed reimbursements from the national health insurer Social Health Authority (SHA).
The suspension would put thousands of lives at risk, with many patients depending on these treatments for survival. Hospitals say they are struggling to keep up with the high costs of treatment without the funds they are owed.
Many hospitals are now considering exiting SHA contracts altogether, warning that without immediate payments, they will be forced to limit life-saving care to cash-paying clients—shutting out millions of Kenyans dependent on public health coverage.
Dr Brian Lishenga, chairman of the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (Rupha), yesterday highlighted the extent of the financial crisis facing the facilities, with hospitals forced to borrow money from banks to continue operating.
“It is not fair that hospitals offer services and then have to beg for payment,” Dr Lishenga said. “We have hospitals owed more than Sh2 million, and there is no way to run a hospital under these conditions.”
According to Rupha, many hospitals are now borrowing against their assets just to stock medication, maintain essential equipment, and retain the specialised personnel needed for managing chronic illnesses.
A SHA official, speaking anonymously, attributed the crisis to poor compliance among informal sector workers—who make up about 83% of Kenya’s labour force.
Despite earlier government projections, only 10% of informal workers who completed the mandatory means testing have become active contributors, while the vast majority have failed to submit their annual payments.
SHA data shows that of the 18.5 million Kenyans registered under the new system, only 3.5 million are from the formal sector. While 4.6 million informal workers underwent means testing, just 1.2 million ever paid, and a mere 500,000 remain active contributors.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
