Hospitals Banned from Holding Bodies Over Pending Medical Bills
Hospitals are told to release bodies and seek debts later...
✨ Key Highlights
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has declared that hospitals in Kenya have no legal right to detain the bodies of deceased patients over unpaid medical bills. This ruling came after a man complained to the Office of the Ombudsman that a city hospital was unlawfully holding his wife's body over an outstanding bill.
- Hospitals are directed to use alternative means to recover outstanding medical bills.
- The KMPDC ordered a city hospital to release a body held over a Ksh1.2 million unpaid bill.
- The detention of bodies violates Article 28 of the Constitution, which protects human dignity even posthumously.
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SHA Flags Ksh3B in Claims; KMPDC Bans Hospitals From Detaining Bodies Over Bills - September 2025
The Social Health Authority (SHA) has mandated several hospitals to provide supporting documents within 15 days for over Ksh3 billion in flagged claims to combat fraud. This action follows a heated exchange between Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Kenya Medical Association President Simon Kigondu concerning SHA's debt and fraud prevention measures. Kigondu criticized the authority's accumulated debt, while Duale defended the Practice 360 App as a tool to prevent fraud. Separately, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has declared that hospitals have no legal right to detain the bodies of deceased patients over unpaid medical bills. This ruling came after a man complained to the Office of the Ombudsman about a hospital unlawfully holding his wife's body.
