Health CS Aden Duale in Taita Taveta County, he cautioned private hospitals against inflation of SHA claims. Photo: Aden Duale X.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has cautioned private health facilities in the country against providing false admission documentation to get Social Health Authority (SHA) funds.
Speaking in Voi Town Taita Taveta County, CS claimed that some hospitals have been filling out payment forms claiming that they have performed surgeries, which did not happen.
“There are some hospitals claiming they are performing more surgeries than Kenyatta National Hospital. KNH has 25 theatre rooms while another facility which has only two rooms claims to perform 50 surgeries a day,” he stated.
He confirmed that that together with a directive from President William Ruto, they did shut down the hospital, further revealing that the facility belonged to a Member of Parliament. After closure the legislator went to the president who shut him down, stating that theft in the Ministry ended with National Health insurance Fund (NHIF).
“We have closed that hospital together with the president. The owner is an MP and when he came to me, I told him to look for another business. He went to the president and the president told him that mambo ya kupora NHIF imeisha,” Duale disclosed.
The CS further confirmed that the number of Kenyans registered under SHA currently is 24.4 million, with Taita Taveta accounting for 159,000 residents who have signed up for the government health insurance.
Duale encouraged Kenyans to report any suspicious activities related to SHA in any facility they visit through a special USSD code *147#. He added that a total of KSh 165 million has been sent to the County level to cover SHA medical treatment.
Earlier Ruto said over 1,000 facilities were shut down for being involved in SHA fraud, further indicating the need for the health programme to remain efficient and incorruptible. He directed the Duale led Ministry to further shutdown hospitals caught in fraudulent activities.
“Our Social Health Authority is working. In eight months, the transformative medical scheme has served more than 4.9 million people, way above what NHIF would have managed,” the president said on Friday.
