How Health Insurance Fund Meant For Vulnerable Abians Was Padded, Siphoned In Abia State

Traces of alleged corruption has been discovered in the Health Insurance Agency in Abia State as millions of naira are alleged to have been siphoned by individuals through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund set aside for vulnerable children aged between 5 years and below, adults between 60 years and above including disabled and pregnant women.

The Basic Health Care Provision Fund is a Federal Government Initiative aimed at helping vulnerable people to get proper medical attention free of charge. Prior to its establishment in Abia state, the government had sent delegates to the 17 Local Government Areas of the state to get datas and shortlist those who fall into the required category.

After shortlisting the beneficiaries, 160 patients were registered under each of the 292 health care centres in Abia State. The Federal Government releases N570 for each patient on a monthly basis summing to N91,200 per Health Care Centre and a total sum of N26, 630, 400million each month for the 292 health care centres in Abia State.

Investigations made by ALL FACTS NEWSPAPER showed that in any case a beneficiary's case outweighs the capacity of the health care centres, such as surgery, the patient is referred to a secondary healthcare institution affiliated with the Health Insurance Agency.

However, the head of the health care center is required to reach out to the head of the agency and thereafter a code is generated with which the patient goes to the affiliate hospital to get treatment no matter the cost.

After treatment, the hospital sends their bill to the agency for payment. The agency in turn confirms the treatment through it's operation/verification unit before funding.

This good package has been going on in Abia state without the knowledge of majority of Abians who are expected to have benefited from the programme. The enclosed welfare package got bursted following a discovery of alleged fraud, padding and siphoning of fund by few individuals (name withheld) within the agency.

According to our sources, some staff of the operation/verification unit of the Health Care Agency who have not been receiving files of patients for a long time, stumbled upon files of persons in whose names funds were released for treatment.

Sources within the Agency alleged that a cabal within the organization connived with some affiliated hospitals to pad names of supposed patients and money released in the name of treating such patients with majority of the said patients not knowing about the treatment.

"We called the patients we saw on the files using the phone numbers provided and majority of them refuted receiving any medical attention through the Agency. These people supposedly received treatment summing to N500,000 and above" the sources said.

AFNEWS made further inquires and sources within the Agency alleged that out of the N26,630,400million received monthly by the health centres as capitation fee, 10% (N2,663,040million) is paid into an account titled; "INCON ENTREPRISE".

"There was no time INCON ENTERPRISE Account was approved for any transaction" sources added.

AFNEWS is making further investigations to get to the root of this alleged fraud.

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