Equity Afia is a medical franchise of Equity Group Foundation (EGF) that operates medical centers in Kenya. The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) is a national health insurance scheme in Kenya that provides medical cover to its members.
According to a Business Daily Africa article, only five of Equity Afia’s 41 medical centers have received NHIF accreditation, making the rest inaccessible to patients seeking to pay bills using the national cover. The slow accreditation has been blamed on quorum challenges at the NHIF board.
However, all Equity Afia facilities countrywide are NHIF accredited, as stated on their website.
Equity Afia has been expanding its medical centers rapidly, with 41 facilities spread out in 14 counties, including 18 in Nairobi County.
The slow accreditation process has not kept up with the expansion drive of health facilities, leading to a mismatch between the two. Dr. Joanne Korir, general manager for health at EGF, said, “We continue to work with NHIF, but they had a period where they were not accrediting new facilities”.
Equity Afia’s website states that they offer NHIF services, including Covid-19 vaccines, at select clinics. However, a recent report by Nation Africa has singled out Equity Afia Buruburu in Nairobi County as one of the hospitals that made bogus claims to NHIF using forged papers.
The report reveals that the facility was paid Sh7,191,000, but investigations have revealed that the facility had pre-signed introductory letters, and Sh782,500 could not be accounted for.
In conclusion, while Equity Afia is an NHIF-accredited medical franchise, only five of its 41 medical centers have received NHIF accreditation, making the rest inaccessible to patients seeking to pay bills using the national cover.
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