By Grace Gilo
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale hosted the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Medical Insurance Companies at Afya House, Nairobi, for a strategic engagement on bridging the financial gap in healthcare.
According to the Health CS, they agreed to establish a Joint Anti-Fraud Action to crack down on malpractice in the sector and strengthen collaboration with the Social Health Authority (SHA) to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare for all Kenyans.
“I updated the CEOs on the ongoing Taifa Care reforms anchored in the Social Health Insurance Act, Primary Health Care Act, Digital Health Act, Facility Improvement Financing Act and the forthcoming Quality of Care and Patient Safety Bill, all critical pillars in advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” CS Duale stated.
Some of their resolutions included having private insurers extend benefits beyond SHA’s package and co-finance chronic care, linking insurers to SHA’s digital claims platform for transparency and efficiency and harmonizing accreditation to ensure uniform quality of care.
The CEOs called for support in strengthening the National Health Registry and establishing a regulatory framework for drug pricing.
‘I reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to tackling structural challenges through legal, institutional and data-driven reforms,” Duale reiterated.
Additionally, he called for a public–private collaborative framework involving the MoH, SHA, private insurers, and IRA.