Over 3,800 medical insurance fraud suspects detained in China

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A national operation targetting medical insurance fraud has seen 251 criminal groups dismantled and 3,819 suspects detained in six months, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Friday.

By the end of September, medical insurance funds totaling approximately 230 million yuan (about 35.6 million U.S. dollars) had been retrieved during the operation that was jointly launched by the MPS, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) and the National Health Commission on April 9, the ministry said in a press release.

In the first eight months of 2021, the NHSA also handed punishments to approximately 212,500 of the 516,600 medical institutions it inspected, and retrieved 8.8 billion yuan, senior NHSA official Duan Zhengming said at a press conference.

Police will step up efforts to combat medical insurance fraud, and will welcome the public to offer information, senior MPS official Wang Yongming said at the press conference.