Regulator orders crackdown on medical insurance fraud by hospitals

China's top healthcare insurance regulator has ordered a nationwide crackdown on insurance fraud by hospitals and drugstores, China News Service reported on Wednesday.

The move followed a two-day inspection by the National Health Care Security Administration in Liaoning and Jilin provinces last week, shortly after China Central Television exposed allegations of insurance frauds in Shenyang, the Liaoning capital, on Nov 14.

Inspectors reportedly found faking patients' medical records to claim health insurance money from government agencies.

According to China News Service, the crackdown will target hospitals that convince patients to receive unnecessary treatment or fake medical records to swindle insurance money.

Hospitals that encourage inpatients to use other people's social security card or make false reports on their medical expenses will also be targeted, along with drugstores and individuals involved in such scams, the report said.

The National Health Care Security Administration was created in large-scale institutional reform early this year. It incorporated functions from several departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, which used to administer basic healthcare insurance for urban residents, and the National Development and Reform Commission, which regulated the price for drugs and medical services.