Kenyans without upfront cash or Social Health Authority (SHA) coverage may lose access to critical medical attention after Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya's leading level six hospital, introduced new mandatory requirements for patients.
In an internal memo dated July 22 and obtained by NTV, the hospital directed that only patients with SHA coverage or an equivalent amount of cash would be admitted; otherwise, the patient would be turned away.
This means that if you don't have SHA cover or the cash to pay upfront, your path to treatment at KNH has just become a little more difficult; you might be turned away without the treatment you require.
"Effective today, all patients presenting for admission without a valid SHA membership must be required to pay the admission deposit for medical cases or the equivalent SHA surgical package cost, protocol receiving service, unless it is an emergency case," the memo by the Acting Chief Executive Officer stated, Dr William Sigilai said.
The memo indicates that patients without cash and SHA coverage will be excluded from treatment at the leading facility, where most Kenyans are referred from smaller dispensaries, health centres, and county hospitals for specialised care that cannot be provided elsewhere.
While SHA was designed to provide a solution for Kenyans who don't have such upfront cash and to ensure they can still access medical services, the new requirement by the hospital leaves these patients in limbo.
KNH, which stands at the top of Kenya's medical pinnacle, is the hope for most Kenyans with critical conditions such as cancer, kidney, liver, and other serious illnesses.
But for the millions of Kenyans who, for various reasons, are yet to enrol in SHA or whose memberships are not yet active, perhaps due to poverty or the complexities of a new system, this memo creates an immediate barrier to their right to health.
If this memo is implemented, unless you arrive with significant cash in hand, even for serious conditions requiring urgent admission, you will not be treated.
Meanwhile, there is a disparity between Kenyans and leaders when it comes to the implementation and functioning of SHA.
While numerous Kenyans have complained that SHA poses significant challenges and, in some instances, is not as convenient as portrayed, leaders, including President William Ruto, Health CS Aden Duale, and DP Kithure Kindiki, have insisted that SHA is working.
