On Monday, April 22, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha directed the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to promptly settle all outstanding claims.
Nakhumicha highlighted that this payment obligation encompassed claims under the Linda Mama program, which has been a significant concern within the health sector.
Furthermore, the Health CS clarified that maternal and child clinics, previously managed by the Linda Mama program, will now be covered under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Emphasizing the importance of accountability, Nakhumicha underscored that only legitimate and reconciled claims will be eligible for payment.
“I have instructed NHIF to ensure that the verification process is rigorous to weed out any fraudulent claims,” the CS stated.
The move by the Ministry of Health comes barely a week after Women Members of Parliament called for the immediate sacking of the Health CS over the alleged stoppage of the Linda Mama programme.
The team led by Githunguri legislator Gathoni Wamuchomba, Mbita counterpart Millie Odhiambo and Kilifi Women Representative Gertrude Mbeya accused the CS of neglecting women.
Nakhumicha was accused of abandoning pregnant mothers who were suffering due to the doctor’s strike. The women lawmakers stated that the CS was to be blamed for any deaths recorded since the stoppage of the Linda Mama.
You are embarrassing us, as fellow women. You’re putting us in a fix, we want to protect you but you can’t be the one sabotaging fellow women," Millie Odhiambo lamented.
The Linda Mama programme was enacted to ensure that pregnant women and infants access quality and affordable health services as a way of achieving the country’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Nakhumucha's directive also followed an uproar by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) who called on the govt to clear it pending NHIF claims amounting to Ksh2 billion.
According to the bishops, the debt had severely hampered the operations of hospitals owned by the church across the country, thus calling for immediate disbursement of the money.
“And therefore we demand the government to promptly pay debts owed to all facilities that have provided medical services before the transition,” the statement added.
