Ruto Closes 1,000 Health Facilities Over Widespread SHA Fraud.

Ruto Closes 1,000 Health Facilities Over Widespread SHA Fraud.

President Ruto has taken a bold step in the fight against corruption in kenyas healthcare system .Due to the widespread of(SHA) fraud. The closures are within the facilities of hospitals that are part of a crackdown on healthcare providers who are falsifying medical claims and manipulating patient records to defraud the public healthcare system.

Speaking during a diaspora townhall meeting in London yesterday, President Ruto said the facilities were involved in schemes where they were converting out-patient visits into in-patient claims and admitting patients without medical necessity.

“We have closed 1,000 fake hospitals and we are closing a few more in the next few days because they want to change in-patient services to out-patient so they can claim more money,” he said. “We will shut them down and make sure the program is clean.”

This comes after an internal Ministry of Health report obtained by Citizen TV revealed that several facilities had admitted “ghost patients”—individuals who were not physically present in the facilities—while others fabricated patient records to exploit the SHA reimbursement framework. The report estimates the total losses at Ksh.100 million.

Health CS Aden Duale echoed the President’s sentiments over the weekend, saying the Ministry had independently shut down 35 health facilities linked to the fraudulent practices. SHA has also suspended services at affected facilities in over 10 counties pending further investigations.

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A senior Ministry of Health official said the use of digital systems for patient admissions, discharges and claims verification was key in detecting irregularities. “With the use of technology to verify claims, admissions, discharge and claims are now digital and easy to track. That’s why it’s easy for us to discover these cases,” he said.

Some patients may have actively participated in the scheme. There are reports that some individuals shared their hospital codes with health providers to help inflate claims submitted to SHA.

The government has reiterated its commitment to accountability in the public health system and SHA. Investigations are ongoing and more enforcement is expected in the coming days.

Ruto Closes 1,000 Health Facilities Over Widespread SHA Fraud.