MPs to meet with private hospitals, NHIF over stand-off

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) – Members of Parliament convened a tri-partite conference on Thursday, bringing together doctors, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), and private hospitals to discuss the ongoing dispute over the Fund’s services.
The meetings took place just days after the Ministry of Health was obliged to temporarily halt revisions to the amounts paid by the public health insurance for claims filed by private clinics.
To protest NHIF’s handling of claims settlements, private health facilities threatened to turn away patients.
Contracts between the insurer and other providers will be inked after March and will take effect on July 1, 2022, according to NHIF Chairman Lewis Nguyai.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe had ordered the review stating that NHIF had been paying too much to private hospitals describing it as medical fraud and also the impersonation of beneficiaries.