KENYA — The Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has unveiled the RUPHA Drug Agency, a Medical Group Purchasing Organization that aims to improve access to quality and cost-effective medicines for healthcare providers in underserved populations across Kenya.
The launch, which was attended by Dr. Amit N. Thakker, the Chairman of Africa Health Business, highlighted the importance of collective action in transforming healthcare delivery in Africa.
With a membership representing 367 healthcare centers in both rural and urban areas, RUPHA aims to leverage its purchasing power to negotiate better prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors and pass on those savings to its members.
This will enable healthcare providers to offer better healthcare services to their patients, while also improving their own financial sustainability.
RUPHA invites healthcare providers and stakeholders in Kenya to join its mission of improving healthcare services and financial sustainability for healthcare providers in the country.
Currently, there is a gap in financial sustainability for poor households in Kenya, particularly when it comes to seeking quality healthcare.
Despite there being approximately 10,000 health facilities in the country, with ownership split between public, private, faith-based, non-government, and community-based organizations, over 400,000 households are still unable to access medical care due to a lack of financial means and insurance.
This is compounded by poor primary health penetration and significant capacity gaps in secondary and tertiary healthcare, which results in low quality of care, insufficient clinical staff, limited medical equipment, and drug stock-outs.
Small private clinics, which play an important role in the overall healthcare system, face challenges in accessing credit due to their small size, low profitability, inadequate accounting systems, and lack of collateral.
The situation is particularly dire in rural areas and urban slums where public facilities may not be available, and major access and equity issues exist for health services.
Credit providers such as Medical Credit Fund (MCF) are attempting to plug the financing gap experienced by private-sector healthcare facilities by enabling access to affordable finance.
Meanwhile, the Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA) has taken a drastic measure as National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) disbursements become unsustainable.
RUPHA sent a letter to its members who provide medical services to National Police Service and Kenya Prison Service members, asking them to scale down the previous benefits offered under the officers’ medical scheme.
In the letter dated January 2, 2023, RUPHA’s chairman, Dr. Brian Lishenga, explained that the termination of the comprehensive medical cover with NHIF, which was considered too costly, had forced service providers to reduce the quality of benefits enjoyed by police officers and their prison counterparts.
The hospitals were previously providing the police officers outpatient services under a Fixed Fee for Service (Fixed FFS) reimbursement of Sh1,500 (approx. US$12) per beneficiary per visit under NHIF.
NHIF had made a bid for the renewal of the contract for 2023, stating a figure of Sh9.3 billion (US$72.1 million), but the bid was unsuccessful.
Despite Kenya’s policy decision to increase primary healthcare services and the rollout of the Primary Health Care Network (PCN), the country still faces challenges around improving the quality of care, optimizing the health workforce, and sustainably funding primary healthcare for all.
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