Private hospitals in the coastal region have rejected the medical cover provided by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
They have demanded that the government increases the money provided under the outpatient scheme from Sh1,200 to Sh6,000 every year.
The hospitals further demanded that the government also introduces a separate co-pay fee of Sh 200 per person, to be paid by patients visiting private hospitals accredited to NHIF.
Hospital managers of the 19 accredited hospitals under the auspices of the Kenya National Association of Private Hospitals (KAPH) announced the conditions through a press statement.
KAPH Coast Region Chairman Wallace Njenga said that the monthly fee of Sh 100 per per person (amounting to Sh 1,200 per year) could not sustain patients with illnesses such as kidney or cancer.
He pointed out that the government set fee translated to giving expensive services such as dialysis or x-ray at Sh 100 a month, which he described as “unrealistic and unsustainable”.
While the proposed medical cover was supposed to be operational in the private hospitals from July 1, KAPH claims that the hospitals are yet to receive the money from the government.
Njenga claimed that the body has taken its grievances to regional NHIF offices, but the fund officers claimed they were powerless to address them.
The hospitals have threatened to completely reject the medical scheme.
