Private Hospitals Cut Off Treatment To Teachers And Police Covered By SHA

The Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has announced that it will suspend treatment for teachers, police, and Social Health Authority (SHA) patients starting Monday, February 24.

This decision comes in response to persistent system failures and the government’s failure to settle pending debts owed to healthcare facilities.

RUPHA Chairperson Dr. Brian Lishenga warned that unresolved challenges are threatening patient care and the financial stability of health facilities across the country.

Dr. Lishenga revealed that only 54% of hospitals have received payments from SHA, while 89% of facilities have reported SHA portal failures. Additionally, 83% of hospitals have faced significant difficulties in verifying patient eligibility due to ongoing system glitches.

Key issues include prolonged system downtime, delays in One-Time Password (OTP) verification, and an inability to track claim approvals—problems that have worsened over the past month.

“We have unpaid debts dating back to 2017. Hospitals are facing bank defaults, stockouts of essential medicines, and many consultants haven’t been paid for years,” Dr. Lishenga stated.

As a result, RUPHA has decided to stop providing services under the medical administrator Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL), which handles medical schemes for police and teachers. The association also highlighted that 89% of hospitals have reported SHA portal failures, while 83% continue to struggle with patient verification issues.

Hospitals are grappling with unpaid debts, stockouts of essential medicines, and delayed payments, which have severely impacted their operations.

RUPHA is now demanding that the government settle Ksh.30 billion in NHIF arrears and streamline SHA reimbursements to prevent further disruptions to healthcare services.