NHIF Stops Payments to 100 Private Hospitals

The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) on Thursday announced that it has suspended payments for diagnostic tests such as MRI and CT-scans at hundreds of small and medium-sized private health facilities. 

The Insurer has accused the affected facilities of making claims on procedures they do not offer.

The NHIF presently covers MRIs up to a maximum of Sh15,000 per session while settlement of CT-scans is capped at Sh8,000.

"We have suspended the programme with these hospitals since they are fraudsters. We had to look for a way to stop this daylight thievery," the NHIF CEO, Geoffrey Mwangi, announced.

Mr Mwangi added that the governmental body had already taken legal action against a Nairobi-based facility, German Medical Centre. 

He advised members of the public to take the diagnostic tests at reputable private hospitals such as Aga Khan, Nairobi and MP Shah under the NHIF outpatient scheme.

The body has assured its members that a full list of the blacklisted facilities would be made public in the coming weeks.

NHIF introduced the diagnostic tests to their outpatient cover for the benefit of those with chronic terminal illnesses such as cancer and kidney disease.

Consequently, the contribution made by Kenyan workers was raised from Sh320 to between Sh500 and Sh1,700 per month based on their pay scale.