Kenya’s Principal Secretary, of Medical Services, Harry Kimtai has warned private hospitals that refuse to provide healthcare services to the public will risk being shut down. He vowed that the government will take serious action, including revoking licenses, against facilities that deny essential medical services to Kenyans.
Kimtai made the declaration during the handover of new digitization devices for the Taifa Care health program, an initiative aimed at improving access to healthcare through technology.
The warning comes amid rising tensions between private hospitals and the Health Ministry over delayed payments by the Social Health Authority (SHA). According to Kimtai, some private hospitals have begun turning away patients due to disputes over outstanding claims.
“Private healthcare facilities that continue to turn away patients could find themselves shut down and their operating licenses revoked,” he said.
Crackdown on Non-Compliant Hospitals
Kimtai emphasized that the government would not yield to pressure from healthcare providers demanding payment without proper documentation.
“Private hospitals with claims exceeding Sh10 million must provide verifiable supporting records for scrutiny. If they fail to comply, we will have no choice but to suspend their operations,” he asserted.
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“If you deny people services while holding a license to provide healthcare, then you have no business continuing with such a practice.”
The Principal Secretary accused some private hospitals of misusing public health funds and pledged to uphold a fair and transparent payment system under the SHA.
Expressing frustration with private hospitals’ demands, Kimtai questioned why the claims—some dating back to 2016—were only being pursued now.
“Why are these hospitals only now demanding payment for claims dating back to 2016? Why didn’t they pursue these claims earlier?” he asked.
The SHA was established to replace the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and aims to streamline healthcare payments and ensure universal health coverage for all Kenyans.
