Health Ministry to roll out biometric system for hospital claims verification
By Cynthia Lodite, August 4, 2025The Ministry of Health (MOH) is rolling out a new identification and verification system aimed at linking patients and hospital staff directly to the Social Health Authority (SHA) claims processing system, in a move to enhance service delivery.
According to a statement by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Daule on Monday, August 4, 2025, revealed that the new verification systems are also aimed at curbing fraud, in addition it is expected to speed up healthcare access.
“We are introducing a better identification and verification system that links patients and hospital staff securely to the SHA claims processing systems for faster, fraud-free free and accurate service delivery,” the notice said.
Duale’s move to curb fraud
Notably, while the new system is aimed at curbing fraud, these changes come in just a month after the Ministry of Health shut down 35 private hospitals across the country over alleged irregularities in the administration of the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Back in June 2025, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the affected facilities, which were located in Kisumu, Bungoma, Busia, Nairobi, Kilifi, Mandera, Wajir, and Kajiado counties, were found to have submitted double claims in a coordinated scheme to defraud the public health insurer.
Duale, speaking at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu during a fundraiser for the Kisumu chapter of Bunge la Mwananchi, said the crackdown was part of a broader effort to rein in unscrupulous health providers exploiting SHA for personal gain.
Duale further revealed that some hospitals had presented fake documents to secure SHA accreditation, while others billed outpatient services under inpatient claims to inflate reimbursements, also revealing that discrepancies were discovered in declared bed capacities.
“How can a hospital with 14 beds claim to have 100? This is outright theft. They think we are still in the NHIF era where such activities thrived,” Duale said.
At the time, Duale defended the SHA initiative, a flagship programme of President William Ruto’s administration, saying it was already yielding results and would not be derailed by rogue actors.
“SHA is working. We will not allow anyone to steal from it and compromise its operations,” he stated.