SHA List Intact as Govt Unmasks Hospital Scams
facilities charged for normal visits as hospital admissions. Duale said this practice wasted an enormous unnecessary sum of money
Duale unveiled that billions in fraudulent claims have been marked since October 2024 when TaifaCare was introduced.PHOTO/x.comSHA
By Juliet Jerotich
The government has moved in to deny reports that the Social Health Authority (SHA) had deleted a list of hospitals from its website.
The SHA and the State Department of Medical Services on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, released a joint statement that the claims making rounds on social media were false.
“The Social Health Authority (SHA) did not delete any hospital list from its website,” read the statement.
The Authority explained that the list of facilities reimbursed by the Social Health Insurance Fund remains available. It directed Kenyans to visit the SHA official website where they may download the data.
Authorities maintained that they remain committed to informing Kenyans about the fund and vowed accountability. They also clarified that transparency is key to the success of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
The clarification came after doubts had arisen over how billions of shillings had been paid out to facilities under questionable terms.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, speaking a day ago at Afya House, unveiled a series of unscrupulous schemes hospitals have been using to exploit the Social Health Authority. He said these schemes have siphoned off money, undermined the TaifaCare programme, and placed a heavy burden on the taxpayer.
Among the tactics uncovered by audits was upcoding, in which hospitals would inflate diagnoses and procedures as a way of earning more payments. Hospitals also falsified records of their patients in order to gain higher reimbursement.
Another trick was converting outpatient visits to inpatient claims. Here, facilities charged for normal visits as hospital admissions. Duale said this practice wasted an enormous unnecessary sum of money.
The most appalling habit is phantom billing, where money was charged by hospitals for services or equipment that were never delivered.
Duale provided some examples. Bungoma’s Nabuala Hospital made consecutive fake claims for a Caesarean section for one patient. In Homa Bay, Kotiende Medical Centre forged documents with the same employee’s signature on consecutive shifts. In Nairobi, Vebeneza Medical Centre billed outpatient consultations as inpatient admissions. Mtwapa’s Jambo Jipya Hospital billed Caesarean procedures when patients delivered naturally.
Duale unveiled that billions in fraudulent claims have been marked since October 2024 when TaifaCare was introduced. He called on Kenyans to remain alert and report any suspicious activity via SHA’s toll-free line 147.
“Our job has barely begun,” he stated. “We will not let fraud deprive Kenyans of quality healthcare.”
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