How I intend to tame fraud at Social Health Authority, says chairperson

 

Staff currently working for the repealed National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) who have integrity issues will not be allowed to move to the new Social Health Authority (SHA).

The authority chairperson Timothy Olweny on Monday said since all staff under NHIF will be required to apply for jobs afresh, those who have been implicated in issues ailing the current fund will be dropped.

Olweny who was speaking on Citizen TV said the new authority will put in place robust measures to ensure any cases of fraud do not occur once the new fund becomes operational.

'As SHA, we are starting afresh, it is a new body so even staff within NHIF are going to have to apply to get the positions," Olweny said.

"First they must be fit for purpose but secondly we want people who have got integrity, who don’t have any of those issues that are coming from NHIF," he added.

Staff at the NHIF have in the recent past been alleged to be colluding with rogue health facilities to defraud the fund with fraudulent claims.

This has seen some get suspended, but Olweny said despite that, there have been no serious consequences for people alleged to be engaged in fraud with those mentioned getting away with it.

Olweny noted that the Social Health Insurance Act has clear legislation with clearly defined penalties.

He further noted that the authority will ensure staff in the audit department can investigate and prevent fraud and ensure the threshold of investigations is capable of seeing prosecutions taking place.

"But most importantly, the Act also specifies that any funds that are irregularly acquired will have to be returned."

Olweny said the authority has carefully studied the penetration of the fraud and reassured the public that no cases will be witnessed after the transition to the new fund.

"The only way we can be able to stop fraud is by putting in safeguards to ensure we don’t even get to the point where people can go through the fraud and be able to get benefits where they should not," he said.

"So it is going to be a combination of having a very robust system that is going to become paperless so that you have a lot of dashboards to be able to flag any unusual activity."

Early this month, the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) said anyone involved in the alleged fraudulent activities that resulted in a loss of Sh171 million at NHIF will be dealt with accordingly.

This, the agency, said includes prosecution or forfeiture of any monies found to have been acquired illegally from public coffers.

The team tasked with overseeing the transition from NHIF to SHA has already been inaugurated.

BY  MAGDALINE SAYA