The government, through the Ministry of Health, has asked medical facilities that signed and accepted to provide services under the Social Health Authority (SHA) to honour the agreement and not discriminate on services offered.
Speaking in Mombasa, Health Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai said that by the close of business this week, they shall publish all the facilities that have been contracted to provide services under SHA but are now giving Kenyans clumsy excuses that the system is not working, or ask for cash up front, or they are simply denied services.
Kimtai said that it was no longer the responsibility of SHA to give names of those facilities who want to be empaneled under SHA, thus calling upon the regulator to take note that the government would take action against facilities not abiding by the contract.
He said they have also engaged with the County Executive Officers (CEC) for Health and have taken the responsibility of ensuring the facilities in their counties provide services under SHA.
He noted that so far, there are 7,000 facilities that have signed their contracts to provide their services.
Addressing the media after a meeting with County Commissioners across the Coast Region to deliberate on how the Social Health Authority (SHA) works, the PS said that so far 13,060, 000 Kenyans have registered, and the target was to register all Kenyans by December.
He said in a bid to ensure the counties own the rollout of SHA with the help of the County Commissioners, they have formed committees that would be cascaded to the sub-county levels, ward levels, and down to the grassroots level to oversee the rollout.
“As SHA at the national level, we will support them in successfully rolling out of the programme in the counties. We have also agreed to form the County Implementation Committees that will support the rollout of SHA,” he said.
The PS noted that they have also agreed on the structures of reporting, as the committee has promoters and village elders who will go to households to ensure that all the homes are registered.
“We have realised that most of the households are not registered; we have trained the Community Health Providers (CHP) for the purpose of assisted registration for those that do not have phones,” he added.
He said those who do not have phones and cannot access cyber cafes would be able to register from their homesteads.
PS Kimtai said they have also formed the Technical Steering Committee, whose purpose is to visit each facility to understand the challenges faced during the rollout.
“We have talked to KMPDC, and the facilities have been told that they should provide all the services under SHA and charge cash to some patients. It is not about the system but about the facilities demanding cash from the patients, yet the system is working,” he added.
He noted that the formation of the steering committees is meant to follow up if the facilities have been using the credentials and were able to treat patients with the new system.
The PS said some of the facilities had deliberately refused to use the system, noting that the issues affecting SHA are technical issues within the facilities and not the system.
Additionally, he announced that in an effort to ensure a seamless transition, the government has released Sh3.5 billion to pay for the outstanding bills owed by health facilities under NHIF.
“The government remains committed to reducing the outstanding debts; thus, to manage the situation, under the new model, we shall not exceed more than ninety days of claims that are pending. Hence, for the first time we have agreed that claims should be cleared every ninety days with immediate effect,” he said.
The PS noted that every health facility across the Coast region shall receive the required credentials to enable them to smoothly operate under SHA.
On his part, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SHA, Elijah Wachira, highlighted a significant impact that the new model would have on the health sector, noting that unlike NHIF, the new health insurance shall not select random service providers but would identify a number of facilities close to an individual upon registration.
“With SHA, when you key in your details, the system shall identify numerous facilities that are close to you based on where you stay; hence, one can access immediate care from primary services to referrals in case of complex situations,” said Wachira.
By Chari Suche
