Nearly a month after the passage of the NHIF bill, tough times lie ahead for private health providers following a contractual stand-off between the national insurer and private hospitals.

The private hospitals and NHIF have been holed up in negotiations for the better part of the day following private hospitals’ protests over new reimbursement structures by NHIF, which they argue offers rates not feasible for them.

As a result, they say they will not offer services to NHIF members starting February 1st, Tuesday next week.