President William Ruto announced on Wednesday that the government has shut down 1,000 hospitals due to their involvement in fraudulent activities related to medical claims submitted to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
This action is part of a broader investigation into a network of fraud where numerous healthcare facilities are accused of improperly converting outpatient visits into inpatient claims and admitting patients without necessity.
An internal report from the Ministry of Health, which was obtained by Citizen TV, reveals that in some instances, fictitious patients were recorded as admitted to hospitals that were already at capacity, contributing to a scheme that has reportedly defrauded the government of nearly Ksh. 100 million.
“We have closed down 1,000 fake hospitals and we are closing a few more in the next coming days because they want to change in-patient services to out-patient so they can claim more money,” Ruto told a diaspora townhall in London, U.K.
We will shut them down and make sure the program is clean.”
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale over the weekend said his ministry closed 35 health facilities over the allegations.
Additionally, SHA suspended services at some of the facilities linked to the scheme in more than 10 counties, according to another health ministry official.
“With the use of technology to verify claims, admissions, discharge, and claims are now digital and easy to track. That is why it is easy for us to discover these cases,” Ruto told the London townhall.
Duale’s ministry says some patients are also part of the scam, with some allegedly sharing personal hospital codes to inflate claims.
