All Rural hospitals in Kenya won’t accept NHIF cards as of Wednesday
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Rural hospitals now demand their patients to pay in cash as they reject the use of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards
Rural hospitals now demand their patients to pay in cash as they reject the use of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards.
Following the failure of the national insurer to disburse funds, over 350 rural hospitals will starting on Wednesday reject National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards and instead require patients to pay in cash.
According to the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (Rupha), the NHIF Board failed to send even one penny to the healthcare institutions during the April–June 2023 quarter, preventing them from paying employees and forcing some layoffs.
Rupha representing healthcare centres across 43 counties, argues that their accounts are still empty despite multiple promises from the NHIF Board that payments will be made since April.
“As a result of the board’s failure to honour its financial commitments, the health facilities under the Rupha are left with no other recourse but to issue an immediate notice that beneficiaries of the NHIF Capitated Schemes will be required to make cash payments to access services, effective from May 31, 2023,” said Rupha chairman Brian Lishenga in a letter to NHIF chairman Michael Kamau.
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In April the healthcare centres operating in rural and urban underserved populations such as Kangemi, Kayole in Nairobi, and Kisauni in Mombasa, resorted to charging NHIF beneficiaries fixed rates –under co-pay arrangements— for services rendered, where the balance is covered by the insurer.
In a recent social media post, the association notified NHIF cardholders seeking outpatient services that they had depleted their credit limits with the hospitals and would thus be required to pay cash.
“Hospitals have offered them “credit services” for 60 days now since March 31…our nurses, cleaners, and clerks are without salaries for two months now,” read the post.
Under the contract with Rupha, the NHIF Board is to pay to the health facility, for a beneficiary of the national scheme, a capitation of Sh1,000 per beneficiary per annum within the first 30 days of the capitated period.
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