Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson has refuted claims that women were detained at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital over unpaid bills, saying there is a clear discharge process followed in all public hospitals.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Sakaja explained that once patients receive medical attention, they are expected to settle their bills either through the Social Health Authority (SHA), private insurance, or cash payments to enable hospitals to continue offering services to others.
“We did not detain women at Mama Lucy Hospital. There is a process for discharging patients in any hospital. After treatment, a patient is expected to pay through SHA, insurance, or cash so that the hospital can continue operating and attend to more people,”Sakaja said.
He added that in cases where patients face financial challenges, hospitals allow time for payment while still providing services such as food and accommodation. To prevent such situations, the county government is encouraging residents to register with SHA, ensuring that the program can reimburse hospitals for patients unable to pay.
“We have, in many cases, waived medical bills, but waiving is not a sustainable solution, That is money that could have been used to improve medical services. For instance, at Mama Lucy, unpaid bills had reached KSh 7 million I even paid some of it from my own pocket.” He continued
Earlier this year, on January 2, Governor Sakaja waived medical bills worth KSh 2.5 million to facilitate the discharge of 81 mothers who were stranded across four hospitals due to unpaid arrears.
At Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, 25 mothers were released after bills totaling KSh 987,345 were cleared through the SHA program, following the governor’s intervention.
“The bill for the 25 mothers was KSh 987,345. We decided to pay for them through SHA and registered them for one year at a cost of KSh 120,000,” Sakaja said at the time.
At Mbagathi Hospital, 17 mothers were discharged after bills amounting to KSh 782,100 were waived.
Additionally, the governor cleared arrears worth KSh 420,000 for 28 mothers at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, while at Mutuini County Hospital, 11 mothers were released after bills totaling KSh 330,000 were written off.
Sakaja emphasized that while such interventions are acts of compassion, they also strain hospital budgets and limit funds that could be used to serve more patients and sustain essential health services.
