The government through the Ministry of Health has responded to the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops(KCCB) over their utterances on the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
In a statement issued on Thursday, November 14, 2024, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa faulted the Catholic bishops for spreading false statements about the obligations owned by the government through the defunct NHIF.
The CS stated that the government is committed to settling the Ksh19 billion debt owed by NHIF to various healthcare providers adding that last month Ksh7.58 billion was mobilized to pay the debts after the bishops accused them of neglecting faith-based healthcare providers in terms of NHIF payments.
“The government takes great exception to the misleading, erroneous and false statement issued by Catholic Church Bishops on obligations owed by the government through the defunct NHIF. As of 4th October 2024, the defunct NHIF owed Kshs19 billion to various healthcare providers, debts accrued over a period of more than 10 years,” the statement read in part.
“The government is fully committed to settle these historical debts and consequently, in the last month, KSh 7.58 billion was mobilised to pay these debts.”
Government on SHA
Barasa went on to clarify that SHA has disbursed funds to various healthcare providers including facilities owned by faith-based organizations majority of which are run Catholic Church.
“So far, the Social Health Authority has disbursed KSh 5,051,202,052.30 to various providers, including Ksh938,605,212 to Health facilities owned by faith-based organisations, majority of which are Catholic Church-run institutions,” she stated.
In addition, the Health CS added that the government through the SHA program will disburse the remaining Ksh2.5 billion by next week.
PRESS STATEMENT:@MOH_Kenya@DeboraBarasa pic.twitter.com/ZPsbeXmt2w
— Gerald Bitok (@geraldbitok) November 14, 2024
Catholic Bishops on NHIF
Addressing the press on Thursday, November 14, 2024, the Catholic bishops accused the government of failing to fulfil its promises on the payments to the essential service providers.
The men of cloth called out the government for failing to pay the Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) hospitals the NHIF debt stating that their institutions have been neglected.
“When the government fails to fulfil its promises, particularly concerning payments tο essential service providers, it harms vulnerable communities. This is the case with NHIF. The neglect of Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) hospitals, now owed billions in dues, is an issue we have addressed constantly even with the President.,” the Catholic bishops said.
