Patients with NHIF covers are a worried lot after private hospitals threaten to cease rendering services to all patients depending on their National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover beginning February.

This is because the agreement between the Kenya Association of Private Hospitals (KAPH) and NHIF has elapsed.

According to KAPH, talks of the renewal of the agreement are yet to be held by the two parties.

The Secretary-General KAPH Timothy Olweny said January 31, 2022, marks the end of their seven-month extension of the agreement they had with NHIF and they have decided to boycott NHIF because of new unfavourable terms of engagement.

The contract expired in June last year and it was extended by another seven months.

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“Come Monday, January 31, which marks the end of our seven-month extension of the contract with NHIF, we, the private hospitals, won’t be in a position to offer services to patients depending on NHIF,” Olweny said.

Olweny revealed NHIF revised the amount of money it disburses to private facilities downwards in the previous review.

“In a previous structure, NHIF would pay Sh9,500 for each dialysis session. Dialysis patients require at least two sessions a week. In the new review, NHIF says it would charge Sh6,500 per session,” Olweny said.

Olweny projected a Sh6,000 per patient loss for the private hospitals should NHIF maintain its new rates.

NHIF has insisted the new rates will attract more numbers of individuals who would wish to get benefits from their services.