Govt to Double SHA Allocation on ICU Patient

In an effort to assist Kenyans in defraying the high costs of medical care, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa on Monday suggested increasing daily government funding for the intensive care unit (ICU) and cancer treatment.

Barasa disclosed that the government has updated the benefits offered to Kenyans at a high-level consultative session on the state of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) implementation, which was hosted by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki at his official residence in Nairobi.

The CS claims that these benefits were a component of the adjustments the government is making to the Social Health Authority (SHA) and Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) packages in order to give Kenyans access to reasonably priced medical care.

According to the adjustment, the government will increase the amount of money given to ICU patients from the present Ksh4,480 to more than Ksh24,000.

Additionally, cancer patients will receive an extra Ksh150,000 per day, up from the current Ksh400,000, if they seek oncology services at approved hospitals.

“We are pleased to announce that the ICU will now benefit from Ksh28,000 per day, as opposed to Ksh4,480 previously,” the CS said.

Similarly, we are pleased to announce that, in response to public concerns, we were able to raise the previously Ksh400,000 oncology services to Ksh550,000. “This is an additional Ksh150,000 increase for the oncology cases,” she continued.

“After review, the revised benefits will go through the legal processes for gazettement,” Barasa continued.

According to the CS, the government has taken intentional measures to alleviate the difficulties Kenyans encounter when seeking specialized care overseas, in response to multiple complaints about the matter.

After the intergovernmental stakeholder interaction is finished, Barasa says Kenyans will have access to the services as well as a variety of other advantages.

Additionally, the CS pointed out that a number of circumstances, such as the certification and contracting of overseas healthcare providers to guarantee the government could send payments upon the fulfillment of their contractual commitments, had caused the process to be delayed.

In order to accomplish this quickly, the CS declared that the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) were now reviewing individuals who were seeking care outside of Kenya.

The CS, however, criticized the practice of some patients traveling overseas for treatment simply to defraud the government of treatment money that end up in their personal pockets.

According health ministry data, the government currently offers KSh 500,000 in all-inclusive funding to individuals seeking treatment overseas through the UHC packages.