MPs pass Bill to ban hospital detention of patients, bodies over unpaid bills
The Kenyan National Assembly has passed the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which prohibits hospitals and mortuaries from detaining patients or human remains due to unpaid medical bills. The legislation also mandates that healthcare facilities provide emergency care without requiring upfront payments or insurance verification.
Why it matters
This law addresses a significant human rights and social justice issue in Kenya, where families are frequently held hostage by medical debt, ensuring access to emergency care regardless of financial status.
Kirinyaga County Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina./HANDOUT
Kenyans facing hefty hospital bills could soon be spared the distress of having their loved ones detained in hospitals or mortuaries over unpaid debts after the National Assembly passed a Bill seeking to outlaw the practice.
The Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, sponsored by Kirinyaga County Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina, also seeks to guarantee emergency medical treatment regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
If signed into law by the President, the proposed legislation would make it an offence to detain discharged patients or withhold human remains over outstanding medical bills.
Public and private hospitals, mortuaries and other healthcare facilities would be prohibited from denying families access to the bodies of their loved ones for burial because of unpaid bills.
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