The recent exposé by this newspaper of the rot among some health providers has sparked a chain of reactions.
Several insurance firms have withdrawn services and threatened not to pay for fake bills charged by the said hospitals. Also, doctors have asked for a review of medical insurance contracts.
But these are spasmodic reactions. The whole question of medical billing, insurance cover and payment terms ought to be examined holistically and appropriate sanctions enforced.
A money-minting industry has evolved where doctors, medical facilities and insurance firms collude to steal clients’ money.
For starters, we agree that insurers should not pay for fake or inflated bills. That is outright theft and should be treated as such and the perpetrators penalised for their actions.
Secondly, the authorities ought to probe the malaise in the private hospitals adversely mentioned in the scam and take appropriate action.
Heath is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Constitution.
The government itself has declared its intention to provide universal health coverage to ensure all citizens get access to quality and affordable medical care.
The health sector is heavily funded and attracts huge business, making profiteers and scammers to invade it with catastrophic consequences.
Yet, given its sensitivity, this should never be a sector where people make money through crafty deals.
At the centre of the row is Nairobi Women’s Hospital, which, as we reported, has been engaging in unscrupulous tactics to make money.
Patients are admitted even for simple ailments like flu. Conversely, the discharge is delayed, so that the hospital can suck in more cash.
Wide-ranging medical tests are forced on unsuspecting patients only to squeeze cash out of them. We note though, that the hospital has denied the claims.
As we have argued before, several other hospitals and clinics do exactly that, only that they have not been spotlighted.
The scam is executed through a network that extend beyond the hospitals to include Health ministry, county officials and industry regulators.
Which is the reason we demand extensive and rigorous investigations to establish the gravity of the decay, identify the hospitals involved and their accomplices and punish them accordingly.
The ministry, the industry regulator, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission ought to take up the matter because what a hospital does poses a serious threat to the citizens and funding institutions.
While at it, investigations should also check on the registration of private health facilities, those managing them and even their tax records.
Urgent measures are required to rid the health sector of mercantilists seeking to exploit the sick.
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