Teachers and police officers take a hit after a section of hospitals announced that they will no longer be treating civil servants who use insurance backed by government institutions like the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Hospitals under the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) declared they won’t treat civil servants until the government clears their outstanding debt. The move from RUPHA was propelled by the fact the insurer had not paid last year’s debt.

RUPHA further threatened to cut off treatment for patients using the Social Health Authority (SHA). The association argues this is their last attempt to pressure the government to fix SHA services.

Despite the government’s promises to clear the debt, the association says it will not continue offering services unless the government comes up with a clear plan for making the payments.

RUPHA is demanding the government pay off pending bills from 2017 accumulated under the old National Insurance Health Fund (NHIF) and as of December last year, the government owes Sh29 billion to private hospitals.

“The organization says its members have seen their hospitals auctioned, lost employees, and, as a result, some specialists are now unwilling to provide services. Doctors are now making it clear that they won’t treat patients without cash payment,” Rev. Kariuki revealed.

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Hospitals are also pushing the government to review the Global Budget Capitation system used for outpatient care. This payment model gives healthcare providers a fixed amount in advance to cover all necessary treatments for a specific group of patients over a given period.

RUPHA wants the capitation reviewed and changed with the aim of promoting efficient use of resources, controlling cost enhancing care quality encouraging healthcare providers to prioritize prevention and efficiently manage chronic illnesses.

According to the association, the government has placed a capitation of Sh900 which translates to about Sh75 per person, per month is far too low to sustain quality care adding that SHA has been unreliable since it was launched last year October, with the government admitting to the flaws and vowing to go back to the drawing board for a full review.