The Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department of Medical Services under the Ministry of Health, Ouma Oluga, has openly revealed how private hospitals in Kenya have been exploiting patients through exaggerated medical charges and overpriced medicines.
Speaking during a radio interview on Tuesday, August 26, the PS said that some private hospitals have turned medical care into a money-making scheme, where the cost of ordinary medicines and basic services is inflated to shocking levels.
Oluga gave an example that many Kenyans could easily relate to — the common painkiller Panadol. He explained that hospitals normally buy Panadol at around Ksh30 per tablet, but some facilities end up selling the same medicine to unsuspecting patients at a staggering Ksh1,500.
“The fraud that happens in Kenyan hospitals is estimated to be between 20 and 35 per cent. This fraud occurs in different ways, some small and others very serious. For instance, a simple case is Panadol.
The hospital buys it at Ksh30, but patients are charged Ksh1,500. This is something that is happening all the time, especially in private hospitals,” Oluga said.
He further added that the same problem is seen in diagnostic services. A CT scan, which usually costs about Ksh16,000, is being charged at Ksh35,000 or even higher in some facilities.
According to him, such practices are unethical and are putting unnecessary pressure on ordinary Kenyans who are already struggling with the high cost of living.
“The level of overcharging we have discovered is simply unacceptable. Essential health services should not be used as a tool to exploit people.
Our duty as government is to ensure Kenyans get access to fair and affordable medical care without being defrauded by facilities that should be serving them,” the PS emphasized.
Oluga revealed that the Ministry has intensified inspections and is taking action against hospitals that are guilty of this malpractice.
He disclosed that the Ministry has already shut down 728 health facilities across the country, the majority being private hospitals, for engaging in questionable practices.
In addition, another 301 facilities have been downgraded, many of them public hospitals, because they were politically upgraded without meeting proper medical standards.
The PS also uncovered another worrying trend. He said that some hospitals are cheating during registration by pretending to have qualified staff and facilities that are not actually available.
For example, they submit the credentials of trained doctors and nurses and showcase well-equipped facilities during inspections. But after registration is approved, those doctors, nurses, and facilities quietly disappear, leaving patients with substandard services.
“What happens is that inspectors are not wrong at the beginning, because the facilities and staff are present when registration is done. But after that, the hospitals remove them and continue operating without what they had promised. This is fraudulent, and we are addressing it,” Oluga explained.
To deal with this widespread problem, the PS confirmed that the Ministry of Health is working closely with the Social Health Authority (SHA) to conduct more thorough audits and enforce stronger oversight of hospitals.
Their goal is to protect Kenyans from being exploited and to streamline services across both public and private health facilities.
“We are committed to making sure medical services are fair and affordable. Kenyans should never have to suffer because of corruption or greed in hospitals. That is why we are strengthening oversight and clamping down on facilities that abuse the system,” he concluded.
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