Duale Suspends 40 Hospitals With Immediate Effect

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on August 8 has suspended 40 hospitals from the Social Health Authority programme for engaging in fraudulent practices.

Speaking during a news briefing on Friday, Duale said that the Ministry will publish the names of the suspended hospitals in a Gazette Notice after they are investigated by the DCI.

According to the CS, the suspension will not be lifted until the 40 hospitals comply with all SHA regulations.

“We have suspended 40 health facilities found to be defrauding SHA. These suspensions take effect immediately. During the investigation period, these facilities will not receive any benefits from SHA,” the CS announced.

Duale has explained that during the period of investigations, the hospitals are not entitled to receive any benefits from SHA.

”Furthermore, we will be surcharging them to recover any money already paid to them based on any fraudulent claims,’ Duale further continued.

Duale Speaks on SHA fraudulent activities

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has raised concerns over fraudulent activities within the Social Health Authority (SHA) system, warning that such actions are punishable under the law.

“Some of the irregularities we have flagged within SHA include the deliberate act of submitting a claim for a more expensive procedure than the one performed and falsification of records submitted to SHA digitally,” said CS Duale.

He cited a case in Bungoma where a health facility submitted a falsified medical report for a patient who had already been recorded in another facility.

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Duale also noted a worrying trend of facilities, both public and private, converting outpatient cases into inpatient ones in a bid to inflate claims. This practice, he said, is particularly rampant in Nairobi and Homa Bay counties.

“The third issue we have flagged is the growing tendency by some facilities to fraudulently convert outpatient cases into inpatient ones,” he stated.

Other flagged issues include multiple billing and ghost patients. In one case, four facilities in Mandera County submitted claims for the same patient, even though the individual was only admitted to one hospital.

List of suspended hospitals

The ministry has promised strict enforcement measures against fraudulent facilities as part of ongoing efforts to protect public health funds and maintain the integrity of the SHA system.

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The suspended hospitals include: 

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