Nairobi Hospital, Jubilee insurance trade accusations over Sh357m

Kenyans with Jubilee Insurance medical covers will no longer receive services at Nairobi Hospital following a suspension of the insurer’s account on Thursday

The hospital’s CEO, Dr Allan Pamba, in a statement confirmed that as of May 31, the insurance company owed the hospital Sh357 million, which has accumulated over a three-year period.

“I wish to inform you that we have suspended the Jubilee Insurance account at the hospital. Hospitals are currently operating on constrained revenues and on-time payment by insurance on services rendered is critical,” read part of the statement.

In a letter to Jubilee Insurance Group CEO Julius Kipng’etich, Dr Pamba indicated that efforts to have the firm clear the debt were futile even after several meetings.

The letter indicated that the account was suspended on Thursday and that no Kenyan with the said medical cover will be attended to until the account is settled.

Dr Pamba clarified that a total of Sh8.8 million for the year 2018 and 2019 packages still remained unsettled.

Additionally, Jubilee Holdings Limited owes the hospital Sh96 million since the beginning of 2020.

“Jubilee’s payment for 2020 has not been commensurate with your business volume with an outstanding balance of Sh96 million for the year to date. The amount includes packages for 2020 invoices which are still not paid despite repeated assurance from your end,” reads the statement.

Dr Pamba has since written to all its admitting consultants notifying them of the suspension of the Jubilee Insurance account.

The hospital at the same time wrote to its esteemed customers informing them of service disruption and that Kenyans should consult doctors online.

“We wish to notify you that we are currently experiencing service disruption at the hospital. We are working to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Seamless services are however available,” it states.

However, in a statement released Sunday by Jubilee health insurance, the suspension is as a result of a dispute arising from the failure by the hospital to provide justification for some billing adding up to Sh80 million, compared to an approximately business of Sh1 billion per year.

A statement by Jubilee health insurance management states that the insurer has been keen to resolve the matter but unfortunately, the hospital has not been providing information required to reach an amicable closure.

“As a trusted insurance company, it is our paramount responsibility to ensure that client resources are safeguarded and utilized appropriately and that our customers receive value for their money,” read part of the statement.

It continues: “We further wish to state that transparency in billing is vital to ensure that all clients’ funds entrusted to us are aptly prudently utilized. Towards this, we remain vigilant and accountable to our esteemed clients.”

The company states: “We continue to maintain strong partnerships with all our other medical services providers and advise our customers to seek quality and seamless services from our expansive panel.

We sincerely apologise to clients who have been inconvenienced and assure them of our continued pledge to provide them with quality medical services.”