It's Criminal to Steal from The Sick - Ruto Declares War on Those Defrauding SHA

President William Ruto has declared decisive and firm action against health facilities and healthcare services providers defrauding the Social Health Authority (SHA).

The president noted that whilst SHA is living up to the expectations of Kenyans, there are still challenges posed by rogue practitioners and facilities who want to cheat the system for selfish gains.

Speaking during the installation of Bishop John Arap Lelei of the new Kapsabet Catholic Dioecese on Saturday, August 30, the president expressed concerns that the new health scheme is still susceptible to the malpractices of conniving individuals despite the efforts to make it fraud-proof.

The president warned that the culprits would not be spared, declaring that besides being prosecuted, they would be compelled to return the money they have taken from SHA.

He said over 1,000 health facilities had been shut down and some their operating licences revoked for alleged fraud.

"I have said that there is no title, office, rank or region on matters of dealing with corruption. We are going to make sure that we deal with the culprits. Even in the healthcare system; yesterday we shut down and revoked licences of 1,000 of health facilities that are stealing money meant for patients. And we are not just revoking the licences, we are going to make sure that we follow up on those who are responsible and ensure they return the money because there is nothing as worse and criminal as stealing from the sick. We must all close ranks to deal with this," he said.

Ruto's pronouncement came in light of concerns over the working of SHA, with unconfirmed reports claiming a multi-million shilling scandal characterised by the theft of monies held by the insurance scheme.

Social media reports had suggested that some members of the SHA management and ranking officials in the Ministry of Health were conniving to defraud the new healthcare system by channelling millions to select hospitals.

Despite the noise, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale assured the Kenyan public that SHA was safe and protected from fraud, telling off the purveyors of the theft reports.

The CS, while shooting down the calls for resignation, claimed that those pursuing the agenda were fighting back after the government's sweeping crackdown on their facilities believed to be benefitting from the scheme fraudulently through fictitious claims.

Duale swore that he was not involved in any scandal in SHA, adding that those implicated in any fraud would be subjected to legal prosecution.

"You find out that someone is claiming money that a woman has been operated on ten times to give birth, and it is within one month. People have become rich by stealing from patients. I am a truthful man and I stand by justice, and I won't take money that is not mine," he said.

The CS assured that the owners of the suspended facilities will be presented before justice upon the completion of investigations.

SHA was officially rolled out last October, replacing the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) which had been in operation for over five decades.

Ruto, while vouching for SHA, said the new health insurance scheme would seal the loopholes used by cartels in the healthcare industry to fleece the public coffers through fake claims.

SHA has over 20 million beneficiaries enlisted in its directory since its rollout last year.

Earlier this month, data from the authority indicated that since its inception, over Ksh 6.8 billion had been remitted to facilities for approved claims, benefitting over 4.5 million Kenyans.