A new bill has been introduced in the National Assembly to end the long-standing and controversial practice of hospitals and mortuaries detaining the bodies of patients over unpaid medical bills.
The Health Amendment Bill 2024, sponsored by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina, seeks to criminalise the detention of bodies.
"The Health Amendment Bill, Bill No. 56 of 2024 has finally been read for the first time. As the sponsor of the bill, I am seeking to criminalise detention of dead bodies by hospitals due to non-payment of accrued medical bills in instances where the families are unable to pay," said Maina.The bill seeks to compel health facilities to pursue alternative means of debt recovery that do not infringe on fundamental human rights.
