The Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has made an urgent request to the Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, for the immediate payment of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) arrears by September 9.
In an official statement dated August 14, RUPHA expressed frustration over the government’s continued delay in settling the debts, which has resulted in private hospitals being unable to offer services due to stagnation.
RUPHA detailed the lack of progress since President William Ruto publicly pledged on March 5 to resolve the crisis, promising full payment to facilities owed Ksh10 million or less and a structured verification process for larger claims.
However, according to RUPHA, as of mid-August, not a single healthcare facility - public, private or faith-based - had received payment.
‘’We write to express our deep concern regarding the continued delay in the fulfilment of the Presidential directive issued on March 5 regarding the settlement of NHIF pending bills. As of August 14, it has been 162 days-more than five months-since this directive was issued, yet no healthcare facility has received any payment for the NHIF arrears it is owed,’’ the statement signed by Miriam Wanjiku, a RUPHA board member, read.
The crisis further deepened after the High Court in Eldoret declared the NHIF Pending Bills Verification Committee unconstitutional. The court ruled that the Social Health Insurance Act lacked transitional provisions to permit such a committee, and that any verification involving patient data must be
The ruling threw the Ministry of Health’s verification process into disarray. The committee, gazetted on March 28, was tasked with reviewing claims submitted between July 2022 and September 2024. However, with its dissolution, thousands of claims remained hanging, and hospitals were left without a clear path to reimbursement.
Speaking during a press briefing on July 8, CS Duale had promised the hospitals that Ksh5.3 billion had been allocated by the National Treasury to settle NHIF claims of Kshs 10 million and below. RUPHA now says they can no longer ride on verbal promises.
They are demanding a written commitment to the payments, as well as confirmation that the CS will oversee the payments by September 9.
‘’We ask that you issue a formal written commitment to all providers confirming that verified NHIF claims of Ksh10 million and below will be settled on or before 9th September 2025, as earlier promised,’’ the statement continued.
RUPHA has also demanded that Duale direct SHA to publish the pending claim amounts per facility that are earmarked for payment within two weeks and to immediately settle uncontested liabilities for facilities that had completed the NHIF-led claim verification and sign-off process in 2023/2024.
The private hospitals also want SHA to be directed to reactivate its internal branch-led claims verification process for facilities that did not undergo the prior NHIF sign-off process in the next three months.
Meanwhile, RUPHA has maintained its commitment to collaborating with the Ministry of Health but called for it to address the long-standing claims to unlock urgently needed working capital across the health sector and advance the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) under the Taifa Care framework.
