Chaos, confusion, tears and hopelessness engulfed patients in hospitals which disabled the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) before systems to support the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) were installed.
The first day of transition to the Social Health Authority (SHA) and SHIF rollout turned out to be a total disaster for both patients and hospital administrators across the country.
A spot-check by Nation found that the Health ministry, county governments as well as public and private health facilities are hardly ready for the transition.
At the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Ms Elizabeth Nanjira (40), a mother of three who has been relying on NHIF, went into labour at 12.20am, twenty minutes after SHA was born.
She cannot afford to pay for maternity and is currently being detained at the hospital until she pays out of pocket.
In Kakamega County where Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa officially launched the SHA yesterday, Ms Norah Namboka, a local trader, said she was yet to understand why the government was shifting healthcare services from NHIF to SHA. She questioned why Kenyans were being asked to register afresh yet their details can be obtained from the NHIF register.
“They would have picked the details from NHIF and shifted them to SHA instead of subjecting us to another registration process,” she added.
As per Mr Wachira, the latest SHA data shows that Kakamega is among the counties with low SHIF registrations. He said that out of the 1.86 million people in Kakamega, only 27,000 have been registered with 2.37 million Kenyans so far having enrolled on the new health scheme as of Monday, September 30.
At the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu, tens of patients were stranded. According to hospital staff who requested anonymity, a system failure resulted in delays in admissions, treatment and discharge of patients. The facility was also not able to book theatre procedures with patients directed to wait or check with the hospital today.
In Trans Nzoia, patients were unable to access critical services as they were yet to register with the SHA.
“What the government has done is unfair because they could have shifted our details to the new system so as to avoid service interruption,” a caregiver at Wamalwa Kijana Referral Hospital in Kitale said.
In Murang'a, Mr Evans Manyeki (72) who on a monthly basis gets medication for mental illness worth Sh100 using his NHIF card was turned away and told to first register with the new scheme.
In West Pokot, expectant mothers were frustrated.
“We are going to face a lot of challenges during delivery,” lamented Ms Grace Cheptoo at Psigirio Health Centre.
In Kisii County, hundreds of patients at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital rued the long hours spent queuing.
“I came here at 10 am and it is now 3pm. I haven’t been processed. I am being told to wait but I don’t know for how long,” Mr Peter Ogoti, a cancer patient, said.
In Siaya, Ms Jane Atieno (33), a businesswoman and mother of a child living with sickle cell anaemia, was worried.
"My son has been relying on NHIF for treatment costs, will the new cover be similar to the one we have? I have already registered for the SHA but know very little about it," she told Nation.
In Homa Bay, the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital is yet to adapt to the SHA. Nation saw patients being given NHIF forms to fill.
In Bomet at Tenwek Hospital, patients who were due for discharge from wards were barred from leaving because of NHIF preauthorisation challenges after the old system was disabled.
A patient who had undergone a surgical procedure had incurred a bill of Sh160,000 and was one of those who was due to be discharged but could not leave.
"We have been told that the NHIF has not authorised hospitals to process payments for pending cases of inpatients due for discharge. We are stuck here yet we have been discharged. It is a very chaotic situation," Mr Nelson Cheruiyot, the patient’s caregiver, said adding that the option given by the hospital was to pay the balance of Sh110,000 in cash with NHIF having paid Sh50,000 on admission.
In Coast region, some private hospitals declined the new cover.
Ms Sidi Mwaringa, who is six months pregnant, had gone to a private hospital in Lamu Old Town where was told that the facility had not yet received any communication on whether to accept NHIF and how cash would be reimbursed by SHA.
In Taita Taveta County, administrators at a private hospital said they were only accepting civil servants to be treated under the new insurance cover.
An official at the hospital who requested anonymity said the information that they had received was that civil servants have an allocation in the national government’s budget to cover their treatment. This means that the hospital is not accepting the cards from any other group because they are not certain if or when the government would reimburse the payments.
Reporting by Leon Lidigu, Ouko Okusah, Angeline Ochieng, Stacy Atieno, Shaban Makokha, Wycliffe Nyaberi, Oscar Kakai, Evans Jaola, George Odiwuor, Vitalis Kimutai, Kalume Kazungu, Kevin Mutai, Wachira Mwangi, Mwangi Muiruri and Lucy Mkanyika
