A FAMILY member of a patient claimed that a hospital in East China’s Anhui Province had overcharged them by more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,009) in medical bills.

On Sunday, the Healthcare Security Administration of the province issued a statement, confirming that the Wuhu City No. 2 People’s Hospital had overcharged the patient 218,200 yuan.

The patient’s family member had claimed in a letter to the administration that the hospital had overcharged his father during hospitalization with unnecessary treatments and expensive medical services.

A team of 20 investigators from Wuhu City’s medical healthcare council visited the hospital and confirmed that 10 of the 15 complaints made in the letter were true.

The hospital was faulted for excessive diagnosis and treatment, unnecessary examinations, overprescribing medicines, duplicating charges, using inappropriate billing practices, and overcharging for amenities, involving a total of 218,200 yuan, among which 187,000 yuan was wrongfully deducted from the patient’s medical insurance fund.

Medical healthcare authorities in Wuhu City slapped a 56,074-yuan penalty on the hospital.

The patient’s family received 5,364 yuan from the authorities as a reward for the tip-off.

(shine.cn)