‘KD 745 million worth of overseas med treatments without approvals’ – Finance detects violations

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 12: Ministry of Finance disclosed that Ministry of Health until 21/9/2016 had accumulative expenses of KD 745 million in the form of overseas medical treatment transactions done without necessary approvals of concerned departments, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The daily quoting a source added violations were detected while reviewing the accounts of Ministry of Health at the Guidance and Regulations Department. He said the Ministry of Finance engaged external auditors to confirm documentations through requests from the hospitals and overseas offices. He assured the Ministry of Finance is ready to cooperate with Ministry of Health to deal with financial costs associated with such deals.

In response to a correspondence from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health explained that transfer of any sum to beneficiaries of overseas medical treatment must be done in line with decisions contained in circulars dispatched by the Ministry of Finance in that regard. It indicated the ministry will not fail in its responsibility to deal with observations made by the auditors concerning transfers and approvals for payment of overseas medical treatment expenses.

It added the Ministry of Health itself had long been willing to encourage the verification exercise over the requests from hospitals and health offices abroad.

It noted the ministry has signed a contract with ATENA Company to audit invoices from the hospitals and specialized medical centers in United States through automation system linking the hospitals, medical centers and Health Office in Washington.

It reiterated the Ministry of Health is not against engaging external auditors for that purpose, while it is fully ready to cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in future transactions.

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