The government has moved to shield public officers from disruptions in healthcare services by ensuring that they continue to receive uninterrupted treatment, even as tensions between private hospitals and the Social Health Authority (SHA) escalate.
On Tuesday, a high-level strategic meeting was held in Nairobi, bringing together SHA, the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF), and the Kenya Association of Private Hospitals (KAPH).
Several resolutions were made from the meeting, including SHA's commitment to work with stakeholders to maintain the delivery of quality healthcare services and safeguard the public health system from the ripple effects of ongoing disputes.
Also among the key outcomes of the meeting was the announcement of a new working arrangement to sustain the medical scheme for public officers. This, according to SHA, guaranteed continued access to treatment for some public servants by ensuring that budgetary allocations are consistently made available for payment.
"To ensure public officers continue to receive uninterrupted healthcare, the SHA has developed a new working arrangement to sustain the payment scheme. This initiative guarantees that services remain accessible, as budgetary allocations are made available," a statement from SHA read.
The new working arrangement came amid concerns from teachers and police who were transitioning from private health insurers to SHA.
On Monday, September 22, healthcare facilities affiliated with the Rural Urban Private Hospitals Association (RUPHA) announced they would turn down teachers and police officers once their transition to SHA was complete.
RUPHA chairperson Dr Brian Lishenga was adamant that the transfer of medical schemes for teachers and police officers should not proceed until all outstanding claims owed to hospitals were paid in full.
The body raised concerns over what they described as a blatant denial of their medical claims worth over Ksh10.6 billion, which they claim was turned down without due process being followed.
But in a concerted effort to curb tensions, SHA emphasised that public officers enrolled under its scheme will not experience service denial.
In addition, the authority also pledged to improve claims management processes to address provider-specific concerns through collaborations with health stakeholders.
According to SHA, existing contracts will be upheld with individual health facilities to ensure equitable treatment of providers within the system.
