Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has denied claims published by the Daily Nation that a resident was denied Social Health Authority (SHA) coverage at the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital over the status of her illness.
In its July 2 issue, the popular daily ran the story of a young domestic worker who had been diagnosed with hypochondriac lipoma, a benign tumour made of fat cells, but was denied SHA coverage because the tumours were not the right size.
According to the publication, even though the patient's employer had paid all the SHA premiums, the pre-authorisation report before the surgery determined that her tumour had to be at least 3cm by 3cm, and hers was just 2cm by 2cm.
However, Kihika has vehemently denied such a report, insisting that no such patient or lipoma surgery had been conducted at the facility.
"I wish to clarify that there’s no record of the patient named in the media report at Naivasha Sub-County Hospital, nor has such lipoma surgery been reported at the facility," she stated.
"Our hospitals maintain accurate records and uphold the highest standards of care. All Nakuru County hospitals adhere to SHA protocols and have successfully performed similar procedures under these guidelines, ensuring patient safety and quality outcomes."
She further claimed that the county remained committed to delivering safe, professional, and dignified healthcare services to all residents, urging the public and media to verify such information with the Department of Health Services to avoid unnecessary alarm.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale also jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that the Nation's claims were falsehoods. "Sad for a media house to create such falsehoods. Journalism at its lowest," Duale stated.
The article also disclosed that, in addition to the patient's denial of SHA coverage, the entire surgery would cost Ksh7,200 if paid in cash, but if the bill were covered by SHA, it could cost Ksh33,500.
The employer was therefore forced to pay the cash bill, as waiting would mean that his employee's condition would worsen, and she was already reportedly in "so much pain."
This opened up another can of worms over the possibility that the facility was overcharging insured patients to defraud the scheme.
Despite Duale's slight at the newspaper, his recent closure of 31 private health facilities found guilty of defrauding SHA by converting outpatient to inpatient claims was also cited in the story.
By the time of publishing this article, neither the Daily Nation nor the Nation Media Group had addressed Duale and Kihika's allegations.
