Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has hit back at Kenya Medical Association (KMA) President Simon Kigondu, after he dismissed the government’s new health insurance scheme, the Social Health Authority (SHA), as ineffective.
Kigondu, speaking in a media interview on Monday, September 15, criticised the scheme’s Practice 360 App, claiming it was frustrating access to services and had already piled up more debts in ten months than the now-defunct NHIF did in six years.
“The SHA 360 application is ridiculous and limits access to services. SHA has accumulated more debt in 10 months than NHIF in six years,” Kigondu said.
But CS Duale defended the digital system, saying the app had become a key tool in fighting fraud in the health sector.
According to him, dishonest health workers had been working with fake facilities to make false claims, often by selling one-time passcodes (OTPs).
“The Practice 360 app has already helped stop several fraudulent health workers from colluding with fake facilities to issue pre-authorisations aimed at defrauding SHA,” Duale said, adding that the malpractice of selling OTP codes had now been curbed.
The CS went further, accusing Kigondu of having a personal interest in the matter. He claimed the KMA boss owned some of the facilities that were recently suspended after being flagged for irregularities.
“It is concerning that the chairman of KMA appears to be defending some facilities whose fraudulent claims have been rejected or whose operations have been suspended due to serious irregularities. This is not a shock, as he owns some of them,” Duale charged.
His comments come weeks after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) shut down at least 158 health facilities on August 29, following a nationwide inspection involving regulators and county governments.
The closures, KMPDC said, were aimed at cracking down on non-compliant and fraudulent facilities.
