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File image of officers standing on guard at the entrance of the DCI Headquarters along Kiambu Road.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched investigations into widespread healthcare fraud after receiving 1,188 case files from the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC).
According to the DCIβs Directorate of Liaison and Corporate Communications John Marete, the files implicate individuals, health facilities, and entities suspected of engaging in fraudulent schemes that have undermined government efforts to deliver quality healthcare services.
The agency confirmed that a multi-agency team has already been constituted to review the files βexpeditiously,β with a view to arraigning all suspects regardless of their political affiliation or social standing.
βIn collaboration with all other law enforcement agencies, the DCI is committed to recovering all assets and other resources acquired through fraudulent means,β read the statement signed by Director John Marete.
The development follows a sweeping crackdown in the health sector earlier on Monday, when Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the suspension of 85 health facilities over fraud-related activities. Duale said a forensic audit conducted by SHA had exposed a disturbing pattern of malpractice, including submission of falsified medical reports, fraudulent conversion of outpatient to inpatient billing, claims for ghost patients, and βupcodingβ β inflating bills by charging for costlier procedures than those provided.
Separately, KMPDC inspections led to the closure of 544 unlicensed facilities and the revocation of licenses for 454 others. The regulator cited serious violations ranging from substandard operations and employment of unlicensed practitioners to lack of critical infrastructure, which officials warned posed a direct risk to patients.
In total, SHA submitted 190 files while KMPDC forwarded 998 files to the DCI for further investigation. CS Duale stressed that the government will pursue all culprits, warning that βany facility, doctor, or patient involved in fraud will be brought to book.β
SHA Chief Executive Officer Mercy Mwangangi added that hospitals under suspension would not be entitled to any SHA benefits during the sanction period.
Β©Citizen Digital, Kenya
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- According to the DCIβs Directorate of Liaison and Corporate Communications, the files implicate individuals, health facilities, and entities suspected of engaging in fraudulent schemes that have undermined government efforts to deliver quality healthcare services.
File image of officers standing on guard at the entrance of the DCI Headquarters along Kiambu Road.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched investigations into widespread healthcare fraud after receiving 1,188 case files from the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC).
According to the DCIβs Directorate of Liaison and Corporate Communications John Marete, the files implicate individuals, health facilities, and entities suspected of engaging in fraudulent schemes that have undermined government efforts to deliver quality healthcare services.
The agency confirmed that a multi-agency team has already been constituted to review the files βexpeditiously,β with a view to arraigning all suspects regardless of their political affiliation or social standing.
βIn collaboration with all other law enforcement agencies, the DCI is committed to recovering all assets and other resources acquired through fraudulent means,β read the statement signed by Director John Marete.
The development follows a sweeping crackdown in the health sector earlier on Monday, when Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the suspension of 85 health facilities over fraud-related activities. Duale said a forensic audit conducted by SHA had exposed a disturbing pattern of malpractice, including submission of falsified medical reports, fraudulent conversion of outpatient to inpatient billing, claims for ghost patients, and βupcodingβ β inflating bills by charging for costlier procedures than those provided.
Separately, KMPDC inspections led to the closure of 544 unlicensed facilities and the revocation of licenses for 454 others. The regulator cited serious violations ranging from substandard operations and employment of unlicensed practitioners to lack of critical infrastructure, which officials warned posed a direct risk to patients.
In total, SHA submitted 190 files while KMPDC forwarded 998 files to the DCI for further investigation. CS Duale stressed that the government will pursue all culprits, warning that βany facility, doctor, or patient involved in fraud will be brought to book.β
SHA Chief Executive Officer Mercy Mwangangi added that hospitals under suspension would not be entitled to any SHA benefits during the sanction period.
Β©Citizen Digital, Kenya
Continue reading...
