The National Health Commission (NHC) of China has committed to cracking down on corruption in the country’s health sector, including its health insurance scheme.
The regulator and investigators are pushing ahead with a year-long campaign to look into the medical and pharmaceutical sectors, with six highlighted areas including public health insurance funds, rent-seeking by administrators and management in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors, bribery in sales of pharmaceutical and medical equipment, and the ethical conduct of medical personnel.
According to the SCMP, the NHC is setting its sights on carrying out a “systemic rectification that covers all conspicuous problems of corruption in every area and field in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors so we can establish a host of enduring mechanisms to ensure the long-lasting results of our work.”
Graft in China’s public health insurance fund has become rampant in recent years, most recently coming to a head with the 11-year sentences handed out to five medical personnel in Xiangtan last December. The group was found to have defrauded the fund of more than RMB12 million (US$1.67 million).
Elsewhere in the country, the National Financial Regulatory Administration of China is urging insurers and banks to step up its support for flood and disaster-struck firms and business owners to speed up their recovery to normal operations.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please feel free to share your comments below.
