The Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (EACC) renewed its efforts to deal with dozens of hospitals involved in corrupt deals touching on National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) claims.
In addition to that, the anti-graft body disclosed that it was investigating individuals who connived with the hospitals to defraud the fund of millions of shillings through fictitious claims.
Speaking during the official launch of the Integrity Programme for the board of directors of the NHIF at a Naivasha hotel on Wednesday, December 14, EACC Chairperson Archbishop (Rtd) Eliud Wabukala indicated that the agency had taken a proactive approach in the deal with graft.
“The commission has averted a loss of approximately Ksh32.5 billion through proactive investigations and disruption of graft networks,” Wabukala revealed.
Wabukala also indicated that EACC is pursuing the forfeiture of corruptly acquired assets and unexplained wealth worth Ksh33 billion in courts across the country.
"We want to see whether people at the board level of management for institutions embrace culture change," Wabukala highlighted.
He noted that the fraud was making the provision of health services very expensive thus affecting thousands of Kenyans who could not pay.
“The fraud is happening between a hospital and a citizen and our public education awareness is geared towards making Kenyans know that participating in that is just making health very expensive,” he stated.
Speaking at the same event, NHIF Chairman Lewis Nguyai admitted that the fake claims were there but quickly added that the introduction of biometrics for all members was helping address it.
“In August last year, we concluded 100 per cent biometric registration, nowadays you don’t need to have an NHIF card," Nguyai indicated adding that the move curbed the issue of impersonation.
Nguyai also warned that any facility found to have presented fake claims faces a three-year ban while the management would be prosecuted.
In the last couple of years, some private hospitals were in the limelight after it emerged that they had defrauded NHIF through fake medical claims.
