UPDATE Thursday, December 10: Kenya Medical Association has confirmed that Dr Stephen Mogusu's body is still in the morgue over unsettled bills.
A report by Reuters noted that the family of the doctor has been unable to settle the bill amounting to Ksh1 million.
Until his death, Mogusu had reportedly not received pay for up to five months.
The government has broke its silence regarding the death of Dr Stephen Mogusu after facing media backlash.
While addressing journalists on Tuesday, December 8, Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi disclosed that the state had contacted the doctor's friends and family with the aim of providing aid.
She further noted that the state regretted the death of the doctor and promised to take care of health workers.
“It’s actually heartbreaking. We have seen the concerns in the media from the union members, we have talked to friends of the doctor who passed on.
"We are well aware of the heartbreak that they are going through and we are in discussions to ensure that the family is able to get the aid they require but additionally that we are able to ensure that this isn’t a situation that recurs among other healthcare workers,” stated Mwangangi.
Mogusu, who died of Covid-19 on Monday, December 7, had expressed his frustration with the mismanagement in the health sector that has seen a section of doctors serve for nearly five months without a salary.
The youthful doctor had been serving in Machakos County under the Universal Health Coverage(UHC) pilot programme which is run by the Ministry of Health.
His family stated that the late doctor had left an outstanding bill of Ksh400,000.
The family also asked the government to prioritise the protection and welfare of medics who are on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19.
During her address, Mwangangi also confirmed that the state was planning to take care of the health workers.
She further noted that the mishap had occurred with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) noting that county governments had stepped their treatment towards the health workers.
“Anything that is pending particularly on the allowances we are dealing with it. We are looking at the estimates. We are trying to look at the progressions in terms of the Salary Remuneration Commission (SRC) and that is why we are asking that we continue with these deliberations.
“I am glad that just yesterday (Monday) we received a report from the Council of Governors that they are covering all their healthcare workers in terms of NHIF to ensure that workers can seek medical services when they get ill,” she stated.
