Kenya re-introduces biometric patient verification to curb insurance fraud

The Kenyan government has relaunched a biometric system for the identification of patients at health facilities as part of efforts to save money from health insurance fraud which has plagued the country for long.

The system was recently reintroduced by the country’s Social Health Authority (SHA), which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Speaking about the move, Health Secretary, Aden Duale, said it will be a game-changer in terms of fighting corruption and enhancing efficiency, Nation reports.

A biometric patient identification system existed under the NHIF with many Kenyan hospitals spending huge sums of money on biometric verification equipment. But the system was soon done away with after the government pulled the lid off a fraudulent ring that exploited the system, sometimes through stolen biometrics, causing the state to lose billions of Shillings.

A One-Time Password (OTP) system was introduced as an alternative, but it didn’t work as several complaints emerged pointing at delays and other major shortcomings.

Now, the government believes going back to the biometric system will enable the state effectively fight insurance fraud and save money that was being lost to underserving insurance claims.

President Willian Ruto also spoke about the issue, saying the biometric identification system, which has been rolled out in Level 4, 5 and 6 hospitals, will make sure people don’t bring forth false insurance claims.

“Today, the Minister of Health, Mr. Duale, is launching the biometric identification of Kenyans at Level 4, Level 5, and Level 6 hospitals. This means citizens seeking treatment will now be reliably identified using biometrics. The goal is to eliminate fraud and fake claims, which have plagued our healthcare system for far too long,” Ruto said.

“Each person will have their own record. You’ll place your fingerprint, and we’ll know exactly who you are. Then we’ll proceed accordingly. There will be no more cases of impersonation or people collecting money dishonestly,” he added, recalling the colossal sums of money which the NHIF paid to fake claims monthly.

The president cited an example of a hospital where such fraudulent insurance claims happened.

“Take, for example, the hospital in Eldoret. It had many fake doctors and accountants whose job was to bribe NHIF officials. In that hospital, a single leg surgery would be claimed ten times,” he said.

“Someone would die, they’d claim they cut the leg, and we pay them. Then again, they die, another leg is cut, we pay them. You even start wondering, how many legs did this person have?” Ruto said jokingly.

The new measure, which takes effect immediately, means that all SHA insurance claim approvals will henceforth require fingerprint authentication.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Kenya  |  medical insurance  |  patient identification