Ruto says 1,000 hospitals closed over fraudulent SHA claims

President William Ruto on Wednesday said the government has closed 1,000 hospitals for falsifying medical claims to the Social Health Authority (SHA).

This is part of the ongoing probe into a fraud network in which dozens of healthcare facilities are accused of falsely converting outpatient visits into inpatient claims and admitting patients unnecessarily.

Per an internal Ministry of Health report obtained by Citizen TV, ghost patients are in some cases admitted to facilities already filled in the scheme which has allegedly 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.