The average cost of a medical visit is expected to rise 15% in January. According to a discussion involving Resolution Health CEO, Peter Nduati, the Aga Khan University hospital has already issued a notice of a 10% increase in medical expenses. Other institutions like the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and the Mater Hospital are already planning to hike costs.

Speaking to pesatalk during an interview, Ministry of Health officials were reluctant to reveal the finer details of this claim.

“We will know in the course of this year,” said one official, who has since chosen to remain anonymous.

The Proof is in the Pudding

Nduati, however, noted that hospitals have sent notices to increase their charges. He mentioned that both public and private institutions would hike their charges by at least 15%, noting that Aga Khan and Nairobi Hospital's expenses would be steeper.

In turn, the Kenya Private Health Providers Consortium (PHP), an association of private hospitals, says consumers should expect an increase in the cost of healthcare as the service providers move to raise the revenues they need to match doctors’ salaries in the public service. This was shortly before the doctor’s strike that was later resolved on October 4^th, 2012.

A report from Medical Kenya even states that the cost of private healthcare alone has been rising since 2010. "While every effort has been made to rationalise costs, the adverse economic realities have compelled us to adjust our prices upwards by an average of 15.5 per cent on all our services," said Aga Khan Chief Finance Officer, Galeb Gulam. Speaking to health insurance providers earlier this year, Gulam warned the public to prepare for tougher times ahead.

Seeking Treatment Abroad

“The consultation charges in these hospitals are high, with a 30% medical inflation rate,” said Nduati during a more recent exchange. “Due to the high prices and increased cases of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, we are discouraging patients from visiting some local hospitals and encouraging them to get treatment abroad.”

Medical Kenya has cited India as the preferred destination for major surgeries.

First world countries like Canada and the United States seem to have better healthcare policies than Kenya.

Canada has a system that prohibits the billing of patients covered by their Medicare Policy. Under what is known as the Canada Health Act, patients can receive treatment through a public social insurance system.

On the other hand, the US has what has come to be known as Obamacare. For those who don’t know what this is, Obamacare is the unofficial name for The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was signed into law on March 23, 2010 in the US. The Act contains almost two thousand pages of reforms to the insurance industry and the health care industry in order to cut healthcare costs and to provide affordable health insurance to all Americans.

Low-Cost Insurance

Unfortunately for Kenyans, patients have to cope with the locally available resources. There have been some evidence of reforms and strides have been slow but steady. All things considered, insurance companies have been rolling out low-cost health insurance schemes to meet the needs of the public.

From CIC to Eagle Africa and UAP Insurance, service providers have been launching policies for low income earners across the country. There are some providers that charge as little as KES 7 a day for medical cover. However, the Ministry of Medical Services is still working to make these plans more feasible.

Over the past 5 years, the entire industry has reported a growth of no less than 16% per annum. Currently, premiums for the insurance companies by the end of the first half of 2012 amounted to KES 55.03 billion. This represented an increase of 23.7% from KES 44.48 billion last year.

The Association of Kenya Insurers even projects that consumers will have paid premiums worth KES 150 billion by 2015.

The government has also pushed for public awareness campaigns in a bid to encourage the uptake of insurance schemes across the country.

Last year, money spent on healthcare increased 14% to KES 167.4 billion from KES 146.7 billion in 2010.

The Kenya Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report (2012) states that rising inflation and an increase in the price of medicine and medical devices translated to a 10% to 40% rise in charges towards the end of last year. As a result, some of Kenya’s top hospitals have increased bed and consultation charges.

The discussion with Nduati revealed that an average visit to Aga Khan, Nairobi or Mater Hospital currently costs about KES 5000. A 15% increase would mean that Kenyans without insurance will pay KES 5750. Meanwhile, other charges like 6-week radiotherapy expenses could go up from KES 9000 in KNH to KES 10,350. The same treatment costs about KES 138,000 in a private hospital. Based on this argument, private charges for the procedure could rise to KES 158,700.

So with all these rising costs and so called affordable insurance schemes fighting for a seat on the operating table, are you ready to meet the expenses?