- He said the crisis of drug supplies was occasioned after the National government stopped funding the county government.
- This is after it was picked as one of the pilot devolved units for the UHC.
Patients seeking treatment in Machakos public hospitals will now be required to pay between Sh100 and Sh150 consultation fees in a new directive aimed at supplementing universal health cover.
Machakos Health CEC Daniel Yumbya said the directive takes effect immediately for Level 4 and 5 hospitals that will be charging Sh100 and Sh150 respectively.
"The charges for Level 3 is Sh50 and will be effected on May 1, we are however leaving out Level 2 facilities for now,” Yumbya said.
While defending the move, the CEC said the county government has been paying huge amounts of money for drugs and other essential medical supplies and the payments will go a long way in supplementing the expenditure.
"The county government pays between Sh30 and 40 million to KEMSA for drug supplies every month. We are also clearing a debt of around Sh200 million inherited from previous administration,” Yumbya said.
He said the crisis of drug supplies was occasioned after the National government stopped funding the county government after it was picked as one of the pilot devolved units for the UHC.
"Machakos was picked for the pilot programme and the National government in 2018 and 2019 disbursed Sh1 billion each year, however the funding stopped at the advent of Covid outbreak in 2020," added the executive.
Speaking to the press outside Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Yumbya reiterated the county government's commitment in provision of affordable health care and asked residents not to politicise the payments.
"Counties like Nakuru have been charging these payments for all their facilities. It should not be politicised,” Yumbya said.
He however said patients who do not reside in Machakos will pay more for the consultation and that the county government will issue special cards to residents for the payments.
"The payments will be done cashless. However, the charges mentioned only apply for Machakos residents.”
Yumbya also urged residents to register for NHIF in large numbers to cover for their medical expenses.
-Edited by SKanyara