Seven public hospitals had not reconciled National […]

Seven public hospitals had not reconciled National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) claims worth K4.08 million as at August 31, 2026.

The 2025 Auditor General’s Report seen by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT showed that the hospitals submitted claims amounting to K59.37 million to NHIMA, of which K54.82 million was deemed eligible, leaving K4,078,730 in rejected claims.

 The report attributed the rejected claims to various irregularities, including unauthorised patients, mismatched ages, duplicate age entries and unauthorised diagnoses.

According to the audit, the failure to update and reconcile the rejected claims with NHIMA had resulted in a loss of collectable revenue for services already provided by the hospitals.

The report indicates that Chipata Central Hospital recorded the highest amount in rejected claims at K1.97 million, followed by Kabwe Women and Newborn Children Hospital at K657,478. Livingstone Teaching Hospital had K422,995 in rejected claims, while Petauke District Hospital recorded K334,022.

Mbala General Hospital had K314,693, Choma General Hospital K217,457 and Nakonde District Hospital K152,738. Meanwhile Zambian Business Times sent a press query to NHIMA seeking its response to the audit findings and clarification on the rejected claims, but the authority had not responded by the time of publication.

Article by Karen Ngulube