The Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has
called on the Ministry of Health to explain recent Social Health Authority
(SHA) payments that the association says have raised concerns.
RUPHA linked the challenges facing SHA to
decisions taken during the transition from the defunct National Hospital
Insurance Fund (NHIF), saying these had affected verification and oversight
systems.
On Monday, Health Cabinet Secretary
Aden Duale dismissed criticism, saying it was driven by misinformation.
“No amount of propaganda or blackmail will
deter us from fixing our healthcare system. We know those undermining SHA have
recruited several groups, including some sections of the media, to advance
their agenda,” Duale wrote on his X handle.
He added, “Let them be warned: We
are fixing this thing regardless of the noise! Our work has just begun. We will
not rest until every Kenyan has access to quality, affordable, and dignified
healthcare, free from the burden of fraud.”
In response, RUPHA criticised what it termed
as misplaced priorities in the rollout of SHA’s systems.
The association questioned the Sh104
billion IT platform acquired by the Ministry of Health, arguing that the lack
of adequate personnel to physically verify facilities had left gaps in
oversight.
“Hon CS Aden Duale, start by addressing the
Sh104 billion fraud detection system,” RUPHA said in a post on its X account.
The association further noted that under NHIF,
field surveillance officers and quality assurance officers were in place to
verify health facilities, but many of these roles were abolished or redeployed
after SHA’s establishment.
It also raised concerns over the closure of
SHA branches, reduced funding for regulatory bodies, and the delay in setting
up the Disputes Resolution Tribunal.
RUPHA added that the ICT directorate at SHA
had been scaled down, with some of its functions transferred to private
providers, which it claimed undermined accountability.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said it had
invited the ICT Authority to investigate the circumstances under which the SHA
website, which hosts beneficiary details, went offline.
The Kenya Master Health Facility Registry
(KMHFR) — which provides information on hospital facilities, their capacity,
and payments — was also inaccessible, limiting public access to the data.
Health Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga
confirmed the ICT Authority was looking into the disruption.
The registry has since been restored online.
