The government on Tuesday announced that all county hospitals will be required to sell drugs at the same price.
The new policy that will be finalised by the Ministry of Health will be part of a new set of guidelines that are aimed at streamlining the health sector.
Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki conveyed that the measure would help to make drugs affordable to all Kenyans.
"We will be setting a ceiling beyond which they cannot go and so far we have spoken with the counties who are receptive of the idea," Kariuki stated.
A report recently released by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) indicated that the public hospitals dramatically hike prices of the medicines supplied by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
The report highlighted an alarming difference between the amounts different county hospitals charge for the same drugs and medical procedures with some being extremely high, at 5,000 percent more than is necessary.
CS Kariuki added that pharmaceutical companies would not manage to evade the capped prices either.
"The EACC report exposed systemic weaknesses and opportunities in the procurement and dispensing stages of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies in the public sector which denies most Kenyans access to quality, affordable medical products," the CS explained.
One of the illustrations given by the CS included a urinary bladder removal procedure which would cost Ksh7,500 when paying cash and Ksh90,000 when the patient pays using their National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards.
CS Kariuki spoke when she launched the Rapid Result Initiative (RRI) on Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) of medicines and medical devices in the Kenyan market.
