The government could have bitten more that it can chew in its bid to actualise the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) plan, experts discussing digital deployment and financing for health services in the country have said.
Speaking at the end of a two-day summit experts acknowledged that the State should have gone for the low hanging fruits rather than push everything together.
However, this comes as the Ministry of Health deployed a brave stance that the Social Health Authority (SHA) system was bearing fruit despite more than two weeks of national battering due to the failures the digital system has been experiencing.
SHA reported yesterday evening that most of the health facilities empaneled in its database, have confirmed the stabilisation of the health insurance platform through increased patient engagement.
“Updated Social Health Authority (SHA) portal numbers indicate that claims have hit Sh100 million. As of last week, the claims value was Sh12 million; an increase of Sh88 million,” a statement from the Ministry, indicated.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai said that as part of the increased patient engagements from registered SHA members, facilities, including public, private, and faith-based institutions, are now reporting steady claims growth.
Quality services
“We are doing our best to empanel health facilities to the Social Health Authority platform so that they can administer quality health services to our people. We are working with the National Treasury to release funds amounting to more than Sh3 billion by next week, so that hospitals can offset the outstanding debts owed to them,” said Kimtai.
However, going by a panel discussion involving the private sector members and a ministry of health representative, the government is not of the woods yet.
Dr Amit Thakker, executive chairman, Africa Healthcare Federation, letting the basic concepts right, could have been the best launching pad for the government in the realisation of UHC. The other thing the government could do, Dr Thakker insisted, is being honest and building trust around efficiency.
“The principle trust is important,” he stated, emphasising that combined with efficiency, Kenyans would have faith in the system.
Old system
Dr Thakker, also the chairman Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA), said, perhaps the government only needed to fine tune the old system, by addressing gaps that exposed the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Broad daylight looting of sick Kenyans’ monies.
“Even if, for instance, the system started to work, without addressing corruption, it will just be an exercise in futility. The government has no option but to address graft in the health sector,” he stated.
Dr Kwasi Boahene, Director in charge of Health Systems at PharmAccess cautioned that starting big on the SHA implementation, risks running into challenges of missing on the important components.
He pointed out that when dealing with digital technology, it is important to always starting small, then building on success and scaling the progress.
Practical manner
“It’s critical to start in a more practical manner,” he said, giving example of the growth of mobile technology, which started, step by step, building on the progress, to what it’s today.
However, he noted that on the SHA initiative, the government wants to start big, which is a mistake. “For me, in the experience I have, start somewhere, build it, then scale. But you can invest a lot of money, and miss on the important aspects of implementation, “ he said.
And as much as data stands out as a key component for many institutions in the drive to allocate resources towards achievement of goals, Pieter Prickaerts, Managing Director of M-TIBA, a health insurance technology platform, argued that it’s not the only solution. “How you collect and deploy the data in your possession, matters. Data is usually utilised to manage risks, but also calls for setting the right price and enhance efficiency.”
However, according to a report by SHA, the government was finally getting it right with the implementation programme as the claims by health providers through the system seen to pick up.
“Kenyatta National Hospital still leads with 427 claims totaling Sh12.8 million. Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Uasin Gishu County and Rift Valley General Provincial Hospital in Nakuru follow closely with 233 claims worth Sh8.4 million and 171 claims worth Sh4.4 million respectively,” the report indicates.
