Teachers medical cover: Hospital given ultimatum to reinstate services

Medics preparing for a open heart surgery at Tenwek Mission Hospital. [File, Standard] AGC Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet has five days to reinstate medical cover services for teachers, teachers' unions have warned. However, the management of the hospital has remained adamant that they will only restore services once AON Minet settles a staggering Sh120 million in unpaid medical claims. "Teachers have their right to protests, but the hospital will not reinstate the services until Minet cleared all the outstanding dues," said Dr Benjamin Siele, the hospital's Chief Executive Officer. Paul Kimetto, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers Union (KUPPET) Bomet branch executive secretary, said the decision by the hospital management to withdraw services due to outstanding bills has left tutors in agony. "This decision has also disrupted learning in schools. We are giving the hospital five days to reinstate the services to teachers, and if the hospital will not reinstate the services by Monday, we will mobilize our teachers to take to the streets to demand their rights as learning will be disrupted," Kimetto declared. He expressed concern, stating that teachers are facing increased barriers to receiving treatment. "There is a threat because whenever teachers go to hospitals they are turned away, Tenwek should have issued us with a notice before withdrawing services and our employer continues to deduct our money for the medical scheme," He said TSC signed a contract with AON MINET to offer a medical scheme for teachers and it was wrong for the hospital to withdraw the services for teachers. "The hospital should have found a solution with AON and MINET over the issue instead of passing the burden to innocent teachers." He highlighted that a teacher's health is also a major determinant of their productivity On his part Desmond Langat, KNUT branch executive secretary, highlighted the growing crisis, particularly in hospitals where the quality of service is subpar. He asked AGC Tenwek Mission Hospital to reinstate the medical services to teachers before ultimatum lapses "We are asking the management of the hospital to ensure they reinstate the services before Monday, failure to which we will mobilize our teachers to protests and demand their rights," said Langat. "Most of the hospitals are very poor in terms of services, but those which are fairly well-known are now becoming overcrowded, leaving teachers with limited options. They are now being forced to go to dispensaries and smaller hospitals," he said. In January, this year the mission hospital suspended credit Services to members under Medical Administrator Kenya Limited due to an outstanding payment. In a notice dated January 29, 2025 from the senior Management of the hospital said the decision was made due to an outstanding payment owned by MAKL for the services rendered. "AGC Tenwek Mission Hospital wishes to inform all stakeholders that effective February 1, 2025 the hospital will no longer provide services to members under Medical Administrator Kenya Limited," read the notice. The hospital management further said the members will continue receiving services but are required to pay in cash for all services. In response, Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL), which manages the teachers' medical scheme, announced the introduction of 17 newly designated referral hospitals. The decision, made in collaboration with the TSC, aims to streamline the healthcare system and improve access to specialized care. MAKL assured that teachers would still have access to treatment at primary healthcare facilities. Despite the introduction of referral hospitals, teachers continue to express dissatisfaction with the changes, citing the inconvenience and limited options now available to them for medical treatment.

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