Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o Tuesday told a parliamentary committee that civil servants would be allocated new service providers after Clinix and Meridian were suspended. SALATON NJAU
More than 100,000 families covered under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) outpatient scheme for civil servants have been left with no service provider to attend to them following the suspension of two controversial hospitals.
Medical Services Minister Anyang Nyong’o told parliament that Clinix Health Care and Meridian Group had been stopped from offering services until investigations into their contracts with the Fund are completed.
“Civil servants who were being covered will get services from other providers to be allocated to them by the caretaker committee,” Mr Nyong’o said when he appeared before the Health Committee.
The legislators said the two health providers covered over 100,000 public servants who demanded urgent measures to ensure they continued to get treatment.
The Health committee is investigating how millions of shillings was paid out to two private service providers Clinix Healthcare and Meridian Healthcare Group to offer outpatient services through, in some cases, ghost outlets.
Clinix which is solely owned by Jayesh Saini through Pharma Company Limited—registered offshore — received Sh202 million to offer the scheme.
The committee found out that Clinix opened 50 new outlets whose licences had been issued without ratification of the Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board after the scheme was rolled out in January.
The committee put Public Service Minister Dalmas Otieno to task to explain why due diligence was not carried out before the scheme was handed over to NHIF.
“I can clearly state that the services they have offered us are unsatisfactory since our special audit unearthed nonexistent clinics while public hospitals had no adequate facilities and drugs,” said Mr Otieno.
He said the scheme should be strengthened to ensure quality services to members without micromanaging the contracts between NHIF and private service providers. President Mwai Kibaki last week appointed a caretaker committee under Mr Adan A Adan to run the fund for three months as investigations into allegations of corruption on the Sh4.2 billion roll-out of outpatient medical scheme for the 261,000 civil servants gets underway. This follows the standoff between Mr Nyong’o and acting head of public service Francis Kimemia to suspend the same board the minister reinstated.
