A number of hospitals around the country were reported to have abused the health insurance fund. (Photo: anninhthudo)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – (VSS) has
reported that many hospitals have been found abusing the health insurance fund
in the first six months of this year.
According to data from the health insurance information
system, there were as many as 83.8 million check-ups of health insurance card
holders with total payment of 46.9 trillion VND (2.23 billion USD).
Some provinces were reported to have overspent from the fund.
Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Tien Giang, Dong Thap and Bac Lieu provinces reportedly
used over 56 percent of the year’s allocation, Thanh
tra (Inspectorate) online newspaper reported.
In the first half of 2018, the health insurance fund has paid
for thousands of patients with high costs. Nearly 4,700 patients were paid
between 200 to 300 million VND.
In particular, some patients with blood diseases treated at
the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, National
Paediatrics Hospital had been paid 2.8 billion VND by the health insurance
fund, of which drugs for special treatment costs 2.7 billion VND.
Apart from some special cases, the data showed abnormal
trends in health insurance participation in many hospitals, mostly in
appendicitis treatment, said Dam Hieu Trung, deputy director of VSI’s centre of
health insurance assessment and multi-level payment in the northern region.
Over the last six months, the General Hospital in Vinh Phuc province
recorded 371 cases of peritoneal appendicitis, while 147 cases were recorded at
Bac Giang province’s Luc Ngan General Hospital and 86 cases at the general
hospital in Krong Pac district of Dak Lak province.
“These are abnormal numbers in the treatment of this
disease,” he said.
VSS checked medical records of these facilities and found all
examined patients in general hospitals in Dak Lak, Binh Duong, and Bac Giang
provinces did not suffer peritoneal appendicitis and several cases were also
discovered in other hospitals.
Trung said peritoneal appendicitis is a complication when the
patient suffers from appendicitis but is hospitalised late.
The cost of surgery for appendicitis is only 1.4 million VND,
while peritoneal appendicitis costs double.
Thus, for each case of peritoneal appendicitis, the facility
will ‘seek benefits’ of about 1.4 million VND from the health insurance fund.
After inspection, refused to pay for such cases, he said.
Health insurance was becoming more widespread,
increasing the cost of medical service and having a negative impact on the
, said Trung.
He said some healthcare facilities advised patients to
conduct unnecessary medical tests. Others have increased hospital fees by
adding more beds to allow unnecessary hospitalisations.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
