Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced that the private insurers will deregister all healthcare facilities in the country that have been found to have defrauded the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking in Narok on Saturday, August 30, the Health CS claimed that the ministry is working jointly with private medical insurers to weed out fraudulent health facilities across the country in a bid to restore transparency and dignity in the health sector.
Duale assured that he will follow in the footsteps of other previous ministers, such as former Transport and Environment Minister John Michuki, who were firm in streamlining their dockets despite pushbacks from cartels, whom he claims have developed new strategies, such as using the media, to oppose the ministry.
"If you are a cartel, even if you try to tarnish my name through the media, I will not be shaken, and no one will threaten me as I deal with cartels. I want to tell them that when I deregister your facility, we will also deregister all the other medical insurers in the country who are fraudulent," Duale stated.
"We will not gamble with the health of Kenyans, and as President William Ruto has said, we will make the healthcare of our country accessible and equitable," he added.
The Health CS has further stated that he will present a file to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in the coming week, which will identify all those involved in fraudulent activities within the healthcare ecosystem, to ensure legal action is taken against them.
"In my address, I reaffirmed our unwavering stand against graft in the health sector, noting that recent disruptions stem from cartels resisting long-overdue reforms," Duale stated.
The statement by Duale comes a day after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) announced the closure of 544 health facilities and the revocation of licences for 454 hospitals across the country after they contravened licensing rules.
In a gazette notice dated Friday, August 29, the council said that the facilities were either closed or downgraded because they were yet to be registered or licensed by the council.
Furthermore, action was taken against the facilities because they had employed unregistered or unlicensed healthcare personnel, according to the council.
On the other hand, the council noted that others lacked the necessary infrastructure capacity to operate, such as pharmacies, maternity wards, and laboratories, and also sanitation issues, which in turn threatened the health and well-being of patients.
"It is notified for the general information of the public that the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, in accordance with section 15 (11) and section 22 (5), has closed the following premises for being used as health institutions without being duly registered or licensed, as stated below," the notice read in part.
