On Sunday, State House senior economic advisor Moses Kuria began his exposure of ‘rogue’ hospitals that illegally demanded payment from patients.
According to Kuria, the hospital in Nyeri has demanded payment from patients who have registered for President William Ruto’s Taifa Care initiative.
In addition, the previous CS requested that members of the public with patients at the clinic evacuate their patients and transport them to Nyeri PGH Hospital.
The advisor said that he had received information that the hospital was demanding a total of Ksh50,000 from Taifa Care patients before providing any services.
“Fake Hospital Alert. Consolata Hospital, Nyeri demanding a Ksh50,000 deposit from Taifa Care patients. Please do not pay. Kindly transfer your patients to Nyeri PGH Hospital if you are asked to pay at Mathari,” Kuria stated.
Kuria’s alarm comes on the heels of another flag alert, which he sent on Friday, December 6, warning the public that another hospital was demanding payment for patients.
He instead requested the people to report the incident to any police station so that appropriate action may be taken against the administration.
“Rogue hospitals alert, Mukurweini Level 4 Hospital, Nyeri County corruptly demanding cash from Taifa Care patients. Patients are advised not to pay and report in the nearest police station,” Kuria noted in a post on Friday.
However, it was remarkable that Kuria, who appeared to have been given the President’s authorization to push the program, was unable to persuade officials to take fast action on the facilities that he had previously identified.
Patients have previously expressed concerns about difficulty in receiving medical treatments with the Social Health Authorities (SHA), revealing that they are sometimes asked to pay cash to receive treatment.
According to the Ministry of Health, hospitals registered with SHA are not allowed to seek patients for monetary fees.
As a result, hospitals have stated that Taifa Care is suffering financial difficulties, reducing its ability to provide comprehensive medical services to patients.
As of November 2024, over 15 million Kenyans had registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA), with Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Lamu, Kiambu, and Bomet being the top five counties with the highest registrations.
However, Turkana, Garissa, Mandera, West Pokot, and Marsabit have the lowest registration rates.
