By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
Medical allowance system has been largely abused by hospitals although it aims at giving medical services for free or at discounted price to impoverished patients, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Wednesday.
The ministry said that 186 out of 262 hospitals have abused medical allowance system by manipulating medical treatment records in various ways. The money the hospitals illegally acquired from the government amounts to as much as 3.53 billion won.
For example, a hospital in Anyang of Gyeonggi Province falsified its medical treatment record, lying to the government that Kim, a 75-year-old beneficiary of the medical allowance system, received medical treatment for four days from 2005 June 15 to 18, when Kim actually received medical treatment for only one day, on June 17.
In the same way, the hospital pumped up its medical treatment bills for beneficiaries of medical allowance system 1,748 times, gaining illegal profits amounting to 16.5 million won.
Another hospital in Osan of Gyeonggi Province illegally received 42. 52 million won by manipulating the hospitalization period of patients.
Also, a hospital specialized in treating aged people in Changnyeong of South Gyeongsang Province demanded 20.04 million won from the government by falsifying record on exercise treatment.
The health ministry accused four hospitals which have committed the largest manipulation, ordered the cease of operation to eight hospitals, requested another 67 hospitals return illegally earned profits and fined 27 hospitals. As for 84 other hospitals, the ministry is currently deciding punishment.
``We will keep conducting research on hospitals and medical organizations focusing on the hospitals frequently used by beneficiaries of medical allowance in order to prevent further abuse of the medical allowance system,'' said Lee Hyun-joo, an official at the ministry.
The medical allowance system was first introduced in 1977. As of December 2005, 1.7 million patients received medical benefits. Beneficiaries mostly live below the poverty line or suffer from rare intractable diseases. Those who are not eligible for work _ 996,000 beneficiaries _ are covered 100 percent by the government, others are obliged to pay 15 percent of medical treatment fees.