Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has expressed scepticism over the government’s assertion that the (SHA) Social Health Authority is functioning smoothly across the country, thereby providing free medical care to Kenyans.
On Tuesday during the Senate debate on the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Sifuna questioned why the Ministry of Health was opposing the criminalisation of patient and corpse detention over unpaid medical bills if SHA was working as it should have.
If the Secure Health Application (SHA) is functioning properly, then where are these outstanding medical invoices originating from? He said those bills should have been paid by SHA.
The questions remain about why mothers are being detained due to unpaid bills, and what sources are causing these unpaid bills.
The Health (Amendment) Bill of 2025 seeks to make it a crime for private and public institutions to detain patients and corpses due to outstanding medical costs.
The Ministry of Health and private facilities have expressed opposition to the proposal. The ministry claimed that non-payment of fees should be dealt with internally and pointed out that hospital and mortuary services are already included in the tariffs established by SHA.
The ministry also stated that charges could still be levied in line with an institution’s authorised rates.
The ministry stated that charging for these services cannot be made a criminal offense.
The committee headed by Jackson Mandago refused the ministry’s claim, pointing out that the proposed legislation aims to penalise the act of holding a patient or corpse for non-payment, rather than charging fees.
The committee also referenced a High Court decision that prohibited such detentions.
Sifuna backed the committee’s decision, citing President William Ruto’s directive that facilities charging for SHA-covered services must be reported to law enforcement.
He said that, according to the government, medical care is free in this country.
President Ruto has ordered Kenyans to inform on public and private hospitals that are charging fees for services that are covered by the Scheme of Health Accounts (SHA), which includes outpatient care for general illnesses and comprehensive maternal healthcare services.
Reports indicate that as of October 2024, SHA has allegedly paid out Sh56.4 billion, consisting of Sh49.7 billion from the Social Health Insurance Fund and Sh6.7 billion under the Primary Healthcare Fund.
Sifuna claimed that the ministry is not empowered to countermand a presidential order. He recommended that individuals facing difficulties with unpaid medical expenses reach out to the State House for assistance.
The President should not need to tell Kenyans to report these cases if the system is functioning properly. If you are unable to cover hospital costs, contact State House, he advised.
