After hospitals turned away people with NHIF cards, Susan Nakhumicha, the health cabinet secretary, moved quickly to avert a crisis.
Even though she acknowledged that the government is under pressure, Nakhumicha said in an interview that President William Ruto’s administration will give money to NHIF to prevent a crisis that results in patients being denied services.
She mentioned that the decision had been made following a meeting between Ruto and Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u.
The money would be given to NHIF by the third week of June 2023, according to the Health CS.
“NHIF has not yet received its funding as a result of the financial restrictions. I want to reassure Kenyans that this week we met with the President and discussed the importance of the health sector in the nation. I advised him to prioritize the situation and hunt for money to pay the NHIF. He concurred,” she said.
“Funds would be disbursed to NHIF this following week,” she continued. “Treasury CS, who was present in the meeting, concurred.
The government, according to CS Nakhumicha, is eager to offer a long-term solution to stop hospitals from turning away NHIF patients due to a lack of funding.
She thought that passing the Finance Bill 2023 would be the long-term fix.
“Let’s be truthful. At NHIF, things weren’t going well. We must now make it right. You may have heard that hospitals are still owed money, which has an impact on Kenyans who use the service.
Patients who have NHIF cards are also not receiving care. Why is that so? It is undisputed that the nation is insolvent. For this reason, Ruto has included suggestions in the Finance Bill that would make it possible to raise money so that we can fund the government, she continued.
Hospitals have stated that they would not treat NHIF patients unless they got a sizable sum from the fund.
