MPs Pass Bill Barring Hospitals From Demanding Upfront Payments, Detaining Patients Over Unpaid Bills

• Kenya's National Assembly passed the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, on November 11, 2026.
• The new law prohibits hospitals from demanding upfront payments for emergency treatment and detaining patients or bodies over unpaid medical bills.
• Public healthcare facilities face fines up to Sh3 million for violating the upfront payment ban, while officers face up to Sh2 million for body detention.
• Sponsored by Jane Njeri Maina, the legislation aims to strengthen patient rights and ensure financial considerations do not impede urgent medical care.
• The bill reinforces existing judicial rulings that have consistently found the detention of patients or bodies over debt to be unlawful.

The legislation seeks to ensure that financial considerations never impede the ability to save lives, especially when urgent medical intervention is required.

The Kenyan National Assembly has successfully passed a significant piece of legislation, the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aimed at reforming healthcare practices across the nation. This pivotal bill, championed by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina, received its final approval during its third reading on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. The new law is designed to prevent healthcare facilities from demanding advance payments before providing emergency medical treatment and to prohibit the detention of patients or the bodies of deceased individuals over outstanding medical bills.

The Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduces crucial amendments to the existing Health Act, 2017, making it an offense for any healthcare provider to deny emergency care to patients who cannot immediately afford treatment. Furthermore, it explicitly bans hospitals and mortuaries from withholding the remains of deceased patients as a tactic to compel families into settling unpaid medical expenses. Public healthcare facilities found in violation of the ban on upfront payments for emergency services could face substantial fines, reaching up to Sh3 million. Similarly, public healthcare officers who authorize or facilitate the detention of bodies due to unpaid bills may incur personal fines of up to Sh2 million.

The impetus behind this legislative effort, often referred to as the Jane Njeri Maina Health Bill, stems from a deep concern for patient welfare and the constitutional right to healthcare. Ms. Maina has consistently argued that the practice of requiring deposits before attending to critically ill patients not only undermines fundamental rights but also inflicts severe distress upon vulnerable families. The legislation seeks to ensure that financial considerations never impede the ability to save lives, especially when urgent medical intervention is required.

Ms. Maina's advocacy for these amendments was significantly shaped by her experiences as an advocate, where she encountered numerous cases of families struggling to secure the release of their loved ones' bodies due to unpaid hospital bills. Among the poignant examples she cited was that of Kelvin, a former medical student who tragically died in a road accident. His body was reportedly held at a funeral home for nearly a year over an outstanding medical bill of Sh1.42 million, a case where Ms. Maina provided pro bono legal representation. Another distressing instance involved Caroline Nthangu Tito, whose body was reportedly detained at Mater Misericordiae Hospital for over two months following her death in August 2025, with her sons facing immense difficulty raising the Sh3.3 million required for its release.

The issues addressed by the Kenya Health Amendment Bill 2024 have long been a subject of judicial scrutiny, with Kenyan courts consistently ruling against healthcare facilities that withhold patients or bodies as security for unpaid debts. This legislative action provides a statutory backing to these judicial pronouncements. A November 2026 report by the Daily Nation highlighted several instances where families resorted to legal action after hospitals and funeral homes refused to release bodies over outstanding medical expenses.

In a notable High Court decision, Justice Patricia Nyaundi ordered Cana Hospital and Umash Funeral Home to release the body of Erick Migwa, who passed away in March 2026, despite an outstanding medical bill of Sh4.4 million. The court awarded his widow Sh1 million in damages, unequivocally stating that a human body cannot be treated as collateral for a debt. The ruling affirmed that hospitals retain the right to pursue outstanding payments through legitimate debt recovery procedures.

Another significant case saw the High Court award Herman Kinoru Sh800,000 after determining that Labib Hospital had unlawfully detained him for more than two months post-recovery, in an attempt to compel him to settle a Sh3 million bill. This new legislation aims to solidify these protections, offering clearer legal safeguards against medical bill detention.

Healthcare facilities and their legal counsel in Kenya must immediately review and update patient admission and debt recovery policies to ensure compliance with the newly passed Health (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which prohibits demanding upfront payments for emergency treatment and detaining patients or bodies over unpaid bills. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines for facilities (up to Sh3 million) and individual officers (up to Sh2 million), necessitating urgent internal policy adjustments and staff training.

Source: Original reporting via Kenyan legislative sources