The Departmental Committee on Health chaired by Murang’a County MP, Hon. Sabina Chege today wound up its stakeholders’ engagement forum over the exhobitant cost of healthcare in the country.
The stakeholders in the forum were drawn from the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
Others were: the Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council, Kenya Health Proffesions Oversight Authority, Kenya Medical Association, Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council, Nursing Council of Kenya, Physiotherapy Council of Kenya, Association of Private Hospitals among others.
During the opening session, participants who addressed the forum led decried that the exorbitant cost of healthcare especially by private hospital in the Country has been a thorn in the flesh of many families.
This has left families being left as destitutes at the expense of seeking medical care to save a life of their kins. “There is a worrying trend of health facilities holding bodies, for instance, recently, we had such cases at Sayyida Fatimah Hospital in Mombasa, whereby due to the unexpected exorbitant cost of healthcare, several bodies were held custody.
This is a clear portrayal of commercialisation of healthcare in the expense of saving lives”, decried Lamu County MP, Hon. Ruweida Obo Mohamed.
The Hon. Sabina led Committee told the stakeholders that deliberations on the high cost of healthcare in the Country had commenced and undertook to see to it that the cost is reduced and reviewed regularly.
The Cost of healthcare has been escalating in the Country over the years, predisposing individuals, families and households to financial distress and poverty.
This is also attributed by many intermediaries in the supply chain each having their own high mark ups that eventually make essential medicines and non-pharmaceuticals expensive which directly incured by the patient.
The Kenya’s healthcare system is made up of the Public, Private, Faith-based and Non governmental organisations-run facilities.
About 48% are Public and operate and the Ministry of Health, 41% falls in the Private sector, 8% are faith-based health facilities while the remaining 3% are run by NGOs.
Committee Member, Hon.(Dr) James Nyikal who served formerly as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health before joining politics, called for regular review of the cost of healthcare in the country, to cushion the citizenry from either exploitation or unnecessary high costs of medical care.
“One way of moderating on the cost of healthcare is putting in place to be reviewing the healthcare cost in the Country yearly”. noted Hon. (Dr.) Nyikal.
This latest move by the Committee on Health is informed by the fact that progressive fulfilment of right to health and access to highest attainable standards of affordable healthcare is provided for in the Constitution, Vision 2030 and health Act, 2017.
