West Bengal health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee has called for an independent agency to investigate alleged financial irregularities in the Swasthya Sathi scheme, including claims and medical bills reportedly raised in the names of patients who had died.
Mukherjee said on Tuesday that a report had been prepared on what he described as “rampant corruption” in the state’s publicly funded health scheme. He indicated that the report would be submitted to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and said an independent investigation was needed to determine the extent of the alleged irregularities.
“I am in favor of handing over the responsibility to an independent investigative agency to examine how far-reaching these roots are,” Mukherjee said, according to the report. He added that the financial irregularities identified over the past 10 years appeared to have “very deep” roots.
The minister had previously said that officials were uncovering fake Swasthya Sathi claims and that the alleged scam involved a few crores of rupees. On Tuesday, he also said there was a possibility that some health department officials were involved in the alleged corruption.
According to sources cited in the report, authorities at multiple private hospitals and nursing homes have submitted written complaints to Mukherjee about irregularities in the scheme. The complaints reportedly include allegations against a medical officer who allegedly took a nursing home on lease in the names of relatives and raised fake Swasthya Sathi bills.
The investigation has also reportedly identified cases in which bills were generated in the names of deceased patients. In one instance cited by the report, bills for readmission, surgery and treatment were allegedly submitted two years after a patient’s death. The hospital reportedly received payment after the claim was approved by the insurance company.
Swasthya Sathi is a major public healthcare financing mechanism in West Bengal, linking eligible beneficiaries with cashless treatment at participating hospitals and nursing homes. Allegations of fabricated claims therefore raise questions about how patient records, hospital submissions, insurer approvals and departmental scrutiny operate across the scheme.
Mukherjee said the alleged network could involve several groups, including insurance companies, department officials, doctors and family members of patients. These remain allegations, and the report did not provide details of any arrests, recoveries, departmental action or final findings against the individuals or institutions named in the complaints.
The proposed independent investigation is expected to examine the scale of the alleged fraud, the role of hospitals and officials, the approval process for claims and the safeguards available to prevent payments against invalid or fabricated patient records. The immediate next step is the submission of the prepared report to the chief minister.
