Heilongjiang seeks public help to combat medical insurance fraud

On Tuesday, Heilongjiang's provincial healthcare security administration issued a notice to the public asking for information about the illegal and irregular use of medical insurance funds.

People who provide valuable information may receive rewards ranging from 200 to 200,000 yuan ($28-28,063), the notice said.

The goal is to strengthen the supervisory role of the public to crack down on medical insurance fraud activities and vigorously rectify the phenomenon of illegal and irregular use of medical insurance funds, the administration said in the notice.

The actions to be reported include behaviors that defraud medical insurance funds, such as by providing false certification materials.

Reporters should use their actual names and take responsibility for the authenticity of the reported content, the notice said.

The administration will strictly keep the identities of the reporters and clues confidential.

Those who make malicious reports or falsely accuse others will be held legally accountable.

In Harbin, four pharmacies were shut down and terminated from the medical insurance system as part of an investigation into a medical insurance fraud case involving more than 10,000 falsified prescriptions, China Central Television reported on Oct 15.

Authorities have frozen 62.23 million yuan in medical insurance funds related to the case and 51 people have been subjected to criminal coercive measures, with 13 in criminal detention, three in administrative detention and 15 released on bail pending trial.