Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has come under sharp criticism from the Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), which accuses him of failing to explain how the Social Health Authority (SHA) spent Ksh32 billion meant for private hospitals.
The association issued its statement after a tense exchange on Friday, where CS Duale brushed off questions from a Nation Media journalist and instead took aim at the media house.
“The CS has chosen to attack the private health sector and the media, using them as scapegoats for the problems in the SHA model. SHA collected only Ksh56 billion in the nine months to July, compared to NHIF’s Ksh65 billion in the same period of 2021/22,” RUPHA said.
“Despite higher premiums, Proxy Means Testing has failed. In the same period, SHA claims reached Ksh89 billion, leaving the authority with a Ksh32 billion deficit,” the statement added.
The standoff has reignited debate over SHA’s finances. According to the journalist, Nation Media had obtained a letter dated August 7 to Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, showing that private hospitals had not received the funds.
CS Duale dismissed the claim, saying no such letter had been shared with his ministry before reaching the media.
“We don’t have that letter. If the person who wrote it exists, they should go to the CEO’s office and we will handle it. We don’t do internal communication through press conferences,” Duale said.
When pressed for clarity, the CS told the media house to “turn Nation Media into a health facility” if they were truly interested in the sector.
RUPHA has urged the CS to stop deflecting and address the funding issue directly.
“In panic, they have decided to attack everyone instead of fixing the model. Any facility asking for payment is branded a fraudster or cartel. The truth is, SHA is financially unsustainable,” the association concluded.
