- Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS), Musalia Mudavadi decried saboteurs inciting private hospitals against taking in patients with NHIF cover.
- He stated that the Government is aware of cartels in the medical insurance business who do not mean well for the national scheme.
The Government has warned unscrupulous cartels undermining National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) scheme, saying they are coming in the way of achieving universal healthcare.
Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS), Musalia Mudavadi decried saboteurs inciting private hospitals against taking in patients with NHIF cover.
He stated that the Government is aware of cartels in the medical insurance business who do not mean well for the national scheme.
According to the PCS, the cartels are afraid that NHIF is an affordable scheme, which is denying them clients, thus operating under cover of paid politicians.
“Let me caution them that Kenya is a free-market country and the best they can do is compete fairly by bringing down their exaggerated charges. But you should not engage in disrupting government commitment to provide universal healthcare for its people,” Mudavadi uttered.
“I know the dilemma we are facing now as a country. We are not sitting well in terms of the resource base. We are constrained and we need to ensure prudent management of the scarce public resources we have now.”
The PCS made the remarks during the launch of pediatric ophthalmology and training centres at Sabatia Eye Hospital in Sabatia Constituency, Vihiga County on Saturday.
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha who was also present at the launch clarified that the challenges in terms of the delays in the disbursement of NHIF funds have now been resolved.
“I had said that the government is broke and we were facing some delays, but this morning (Saturday), I received a confirmation from Treasury that the NHIF disbursement has been made,” said Nakhumicha.
“All claims will be cleared with the correct procedures being followed, but I want to state again that I am not going to condone corruption in the Health Sector. The scarce resources that we receive are public resources and must be utilized well.” She added.
Mudavadi echoed Nakhumicha’s sentiments saying the management of the health sector should be prioritized, even as he made reference to recent decisions made at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA).
“Even as we launch such a state-of-the-art facility here in Sabatia, I want to reiterate that harnessing institutions of excellence across the board, especially in the health sector calls for proper management, collaboration and good partnership. I encourage the Health CS to crack the whip on whoever wants to cripple our health sector through any form of mismanagement of public resources,” stated Mudavadi.
Mudavadi also said it is not only unethical but also criminal for some hospitals to inflate charges on NHIF bills for substandard treatment.
“They stand warned that the government will not be lenient on them,” he affirmed.
He urged Nakhumicha to work with investigating agencies to establish whether this illegality is being carried out with the connivance of NHIF workers.
“The Minister for Health in conjunction with criminal investigative agencies hereby directed to take the necessary severe action to crack down and stop the draining of NHIF funds by such criminal enterprises in the health sector,” Mudavadi directed.
He said Kenyans must know that the sum total of their contributions enables NHIF to pay for their treatment, adding that failure to contribute to NHIF is not only condemning Kenyans to a life of penury but also prescribing them a death sentence.
The PCS insisted that universal health coverage that the government is pursuing is possible and all that is required is accountability, working diagnostics treatment equipment, drugs medication and honest staff at health facilities.
At the same time, the PCS said that a majority of Kenyans seek medical treatment in Government managed health facilities, which are back-stoppers for those who cannot easily access or are denied private facilities.
Mudavadi, however, decried a practice in these facilities that show laxity in offering services.
“On any given day, there is either no personnel on duty to attend to patients or if present, staff offer substandard services to poor patients. Often, government health facilities are bereft of drugs other than painkillers, and patients are directed to private pharmacies with links to government health facility staff,” he stated
He said it is common knowledge that medicines destined for government health facilities find their way, by way of diversion, to these private pharmacies, a situation that needs to be urgently rectified.
“We need to sort out this duel, and most times, conflict of interest co-existence in the health sector. CS Nakhumicha, you have a job well cut for you. In conjunction with County Governments, crack down on this thriving criminal enterprise that is condemning our people to an early death by stealing their drugs,” he directed.
The new facilities at the Sabatia Eye Clinic which are a result of a partnership and collaboration by various entities and stakeholders are designed to provide more child-friendly and patient-centred healthcare and enhance the training of eye care workers in Kenya and beyond.
“You can have your eye operation here through laser treatment and that is a very huge and serious achievement. These are initiatives that we must consolidate and improve on,” he said.
“I appreciate those who journeyed with us for the 27 years that Sabatia Eye Hospital has been in existence providing comprehensive eye care health services. Kenyans should see to it that by joining hands and working together we are in for very good news moving into the future.” Added Mudavadi.
Between 2015 and 2022, Sabatia Eye Hospital screened about 3,000 children under 15 years and over 5,000 pediatric surgeries were performed.