Massive Job Losses Loom as President Ruto Shuts Down Over 1,000 Health Facilities in Anti-Fraud Operation
President William Ruto has revealed that his government has shut down more than 1,000 health facilities across the country as part of an ongoing crackdown against fraud targeting the Social Health Authority (SHA).
While speaking to Kenyans living in the United Kingdom on Thursday, July 3, Ruto explained that the closures were part of efforts to fight corruption and dishonest practices in institutions involved in the SHA program.
According to the president, the affected facilities were found guilty of engaging in fraudulent activities that put the integrity of the new health scheme at risk.
“We are dealing with individuals and institutions that are attempting to undermine our efforts to provide quality and affordable healthcare to all Kenyans,” said Ruto. “We have already shut down more than 1,000 medical facilities involved in fraudulent claims.
And this is just the beginning—more facilities will be closed soon. Our health programme must be protected from corruption.”
Ruto emphasized that the SHA, which was launched in October 2024 to replace the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), is already achieving more than what NHIF could have accomplished.
He noted that in less than a year since its launch, SHA has managed to serve over 4.9 million Kenyans, a number that surpasses what NHIF would have reached within the same period.
“Our Social Health Authority is delivering real results. In just eight months, it has provided healthcare services to more than 4.9 million citizens.
This is a clear sign that SHA is a game-changer in our health sector, and we will not allow a few bad actors to derail its mission,” Ruto added.
The announcement came just days after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale disclosed that an additional 35 private health facilities had also been shut down due to suspected involvement in dishonest activities connected to SHA.
Speaking during an event at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on June 30, Duale revealed that the ministry had discovered several private hospitals that had either submitted fake documents to obtain SHA accreditation or manipulated patient claims to receive higher payouts.
In some cases, outpatient treatments were fraudulently billed as inpatient care to inflate reimbursement claims.
The Health CS stressed that the crackdown is a wide-ranging operation aimed at rooting out all fraudulent behavior among healthcare providers. He assured Kenyans that the ministry would not relent until all dishonest individuals and institutions are removed from the SHA system.
“This is a matter of integrity and public trust. We will not tolerate any form of fraud in the Social Health Authority. We are determined to clean up the health sector and ensure every Kenyan benefits from this programme fairly and transparently,” Duale stated.
The shutdown of over 1,000 health facilities has raised concerns about potential job losses in the health sector, with thousands of healthcare workers possibly affected. However, the government insists that the clean-up is necessary to ensure long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the SHA.
As the crackdown continues, more facilities found to be engaging in unethical practices are expected to be shut down. The government has maintained that it will only work with institutions that meet the highest standards of accountability and service delivery.
Join Gen Z New WhatsApp Channel To Stay Updated On time
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaWT5gSGufImU8R0DO30
