About 20,000 cases of illegal overcharging by hospitals, involving
US$157.2 million (1.3 billion yuan), have been investigated in
China since the beginning of the year, an official from the State
Development Planning Commission (
SDPC) said Friday.
Deputy Director of the State Development Planning Commission Price
Inspection Department Li Zengqi announced at a press conference
that 11 hospitals have been punished for their illegal
overcharging, with US$3.1 million (25.8 million yuan) in illicit
income confiscated.
Although the Chinese government has frequently reiterated that
hospitals are not allowed to overcharge patients, some hospitals
are still raising the price of medicine, medical services and
disposable products for medical use, Li said.
According to the SDPC, in a bid to relieve patients' financial
burdens, the government has fixed the maximum prices of more than
1,000 types of medicine, and, since October 1997, has reduced fixed
prices on 10 occasions. In doing so, it has saved US$2.2 billion
(18 billion yuan) for patients.
Li
said that price administrations at various levels should continue
examining the price of medicine and medical services, and punish
violators by giving warnings, confiscating illegal income, imposing
fines and revoking licences.
Li
Lei, deputy director of the SDPC Price Department, said the
government is exploring new ways of regulating medical prices under
the framework of the market economy.
To
resolve the existing problems, medical treatment and medicine sales
should be managed separately, the medical insurance system be
improved, and laws be perfected, Li said.
(China
Daily 09/29/2001)