Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has denied reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) plans to prevent civil servants from accessing medical care.
In a statement on Saturday, August 9, the CS termed the reports as misleading and meant to trigger unnecessary panic among civil servants.
Ruku affirmed that the government will ensure that all civil servants, together with their families, will continue receiving health services from contracted facilities across the country.
The CS stressed that no civil servant or his/her dependents should pay cash for any healthcare facility, whether government-owned, faith-based or a private hospital.
“Civil servants will continue to receive medical care in all public hospitals and accredited and contracted private and faith-based hospitals nationwide,” Ruku.
“No civil servant or eligible dependent is required to pay cash at any contracted healthcare facility. Access to quality and seamless healthcare services remains guaranteed as it has been over the years,” he added.
Ruku, however, clarified that the medical insurance will not cover medical costs for Kenyans in suspended health facilities.
The Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, suspended 40 hospitals from the SHA programme on Friday for allegedly engaging in fraudulent practices.
The ministry published the names of the suspended hospitals in a gazette notice after they were investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
“The ministry assures all civil servants and their dependents that their healthcare services remain uninterrupted and that their welfare is fully safeguarded,” Ruku stated.
The announcement comes after the Kenya Health Federation Chairperson, Kanyenje Gakombe, claimed that private hospitals across the country will no longer offer health services to civil servants after the government's delay in releasing payments to these facilities.
According to the federation, these facilities are no longer able to cover the costs of treating public servants without reimbursement from the government's health insurance programme.
“Unless the outstanding claims are settled per the contractual terms, providers will have no choice but to request that public servants pay for both past and future medical bills directly and then seek reimbursement from their employers and/or the SHA,” Gakombe said.
