The government has pledged to clear the outstanding debts owed to private and faith-based healthcare facilities by the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, that a disbursement of Ksh1.5 billion will be made this week to start clearing the outstanding payments.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai acknowledged that healthcare providers have been severely affected by the delayed payments, which have compromised their ability to maintain operations. To alleviate the situation, the government has pledged an additional Ksh3 billion next week, bringing the total amount to Ksh4.5 billion.
“The government will disburse KSh 1.5 billion this week to settle claims owed to healthcare facilities, with an additional KSh 3 billion to be cleared next week, bringing the total to KSh 4.5 billion. Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Mr. Kimtai, confirmed that all claims owed by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will be fully paid, stating, “We are optimistic that we will settle all the claims,” a statement by MOH read in part.
Kimtai expressed confidence that the government would fully settle all claims owed by the NHIF, with plans in place to ensure transparency throughout the process. He confirmed that a committee would be established to oversee the disbursement of funds, ensuring that healthcare providers receive their payments efficiently.
He highlighted that the transition from NHIF to the newly formed Social Health Authority (SHA) has been a challenging one, but the SHA is implementing measures to streamline operations. One such improvement is the digitisation of the claims process, with a fully digitised claims portal already in place. The PS mentioned that as of October 14, over Ksh100 million worth of claims had been recorded, allowing for real-time monitoring of the payment process. The Principal Secretary assured that all outstanding claims will be cleared within 90 days.
“A committee will be established to oversee the payment process, ensuring transparency. Mr. Kimtai also noted that NHIF liabilities now fall under the Social Health Authority (SHA), which has implemented a fully digitised claims portal. As of yesterday, over KSh 100 million worth of claims had been recorded, with the system enabling real-time monitoring. The PS assured that all outstanding claims will be settled within 90 days,” MOH added.
In addition to addressing the payment backlog, Kimtai announced that SHA is also rolling out plans to digitise health records. Healthcare workers will soon be equipped with tablets to enhance service delivery, a move that is expected to transform the healthcare system. The SHA is also introducing e-contracting for healthcare facilities, which will replace the previous manual contracting system.
The government has urged healthcare facilities to establish customer service desks to assist Kenyans with registering for the new SHA scheme.