Will NHIF biometric kits roll-out stop fraud in scheme?

(Photo: Courtesy)

Health-care fraud is a rising problem  that deprives patients of affordable quality health care and I think the new biometric system will reduce this fraud from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

With the current manual set-up, I do not understand the payment process for NHIF, which makes me vulnerable to inflated payments as well as ghost visits to the hospital.

I do not understand what goes on, I just give my card to the officer in the hope that he will fill in the right details in terms of the treatment and payment.

A digitised system will help ease my worries and fears of being conned by the NHIF and hospital officials.

Once I have the smart card, I will know the amount saved in the fund as well as have a list of bills incurred in previous treatments; every coin will be accounted for.

I think biometrics would also flush out people who use false identity for treatment in hospitals to con the Government-funded insurance scheme.

I believe the fund would also be able to track false claims and con artists who go from one hospital to the other with the same claims just to get especially expensive prescriptions to sell.

In my opinion it is people who fail the systems by manipulating them; NHIF would do well with less manpower and more machines as machines do not lie.

 

Mr Onkundi is a businessman in Kakamega town