Nursing crisis: Private hospitals suspend SHA services due to KSH 30B debt

The private hospitals in Kenya have endless suspended services within the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the medical administration Kenya Limited (MAKL), invoking unpaid arrears and financial instability.

In a statement on Monday, February 24, the Association of Private Hospitals in Kenya (Kap) announced the decision, blaming the inefficiencies in the NHIF to SHA transition and the absence of a clear repayment framework for outpatient services.

“This decision comes in response to persistent financial instability, which has put the quality, accessibility and durability of healthcare services with a serious risk due to the non-resolved inefficiencies in the NHIF-sha. At the remarkable NHIF worth 30 billion KSH and long -lasting unpaid requests under Makl, ” Said President Kaph, Erick Musyima.

Musyima explained that the association took this step after months of unsuccessful negotiations with the government. He warned that the crisis now threatens the survival of private hospitals, which serve more than 52% of the population in Kenya.

“This is not a decision that I made easy. There are months of unsuccessful negotiations with government authorities, unfulfilled repeated promises from Makl and an increasing financial burden, which now threatens the survival of private healthcare facilities in Kenya “,” he said.

Kaph has continued to warn that the crisis endangers Kenia’s progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) and weakening the key pillars of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite the suspension, Kaph expressed his willingness to engage in dialogue with the government to solve systemic failures and to prevent further damage to medical assistance services.

“The durability of private hospitals and the health and well -being of millions of Kenians depend on immediate actions” concluded the statement.