NAIROBI — A simmering standoff between Kenya’s private hospitals and the government has escalated into a direct threat to teachers’ access to healthcare.
On Sunday, the Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) announced it will suspend services for patients covered by the Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme unless the state pays Ksh.10.6 billion in overdue claims. The directive would force patients to pay cash for treatment in private facilities.
“We have already proven that SHA is a bad borrower,” said RUPHA chairperson Dr. Brian Lishenga at a press briefing. “It has received credit from us worth Ksh.76 billion. Now the Cabinet Secretary is calling us thieves and cartels. We are not going to extend credit moving forward.”
The sharp rebuke followed remarks by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who has publicly dismissed some hospital operators as profiteers. Hospital administrators, however, insist the arrears are crippling their operations.
The timing is critical. The government is preparing to move teachers onto the new Public Officers’ Medical Scheme Fund, administered by SHA, once their current Minet-led insurance contract expires in December. But private hospitals say they will not honour the new cover unless all outstanding claims are cleared.
“The migration of teachers’ insurance must not happen before Minet and MAKL pay hospitals,” Dr. Lishenga warned. “Come December we will not offer services to teachers if hospitals are not paid.”
RUPHA claims hospitals are still owed up to Ksh.20 billion for services previously provided to teachers and police under Minet and MAKL. The association says both groups risk losing access to care if the matter is not resolved.
“The Kenyan police and teachers need to understand that before MAKL and Minet are sorted, the possibility of them not receiving services is 100%,” Dr. Lishenga added. “They must come to SHA on a clean plate.”
The government, meanwhile, has not publicly outlined how it plans to settle the mounting claims. For now, the uncertainty is fuelling concern among teachers, who fear they may be left without cover at the year’s end.
The dispute highlights the fragility of Kenya’s shift to a centralised health insurance model. While officials have billed SHA as a solution to long-standing inefficiencies, critics say unpaid claims and mistrust between government and providers threaten to undermine its credibility before it even takes full root.
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