Kathmandu. Amid China’s rapidly growing ageing population and the struggle to take care of them, a startling report has emerged.
According to a recent report by The Diplomat, China’s counterfeit private psychiatric hospitals are involved in widespread insurance fraud and human rights abuses. It has also been revealed that these fake hospitals have embezzled a huge amount of government medical funds.
Insurance scam: How are senior citizens being cheated?
Dozens of fake hospitals have been found in the Chinese cities of Xiangyang and Yichang. They lure senior citizens and drug addicts with the promise of free food and shelter. In China, the government bears the cost of treatment under the medical insurance program.
According to a secret report, these hospitals were charging huge sums of money from the government, billing about 140 yuan per patient per day. This fraud has been found to be aimed at senior citizens in rural areas with low pensions. They were lured into these fake hospitals with the promise of shelter and food.
Hospital abuse and captive labor
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The investigation report has also revealed that the condition of these hospitals is very pathetic. Admitted patients were abused and attacked. Patients are forced to clean hospitals, bathe other patients, and do other basic chores. Once admitted, it is almost impossible for patients to leave the hospital. Many patients are forced to stay in these hospitals for years.
Senior Care System Fails
The scandal highlights the limitations of China’s current “aged care system”. The Chinese system assumes that most senior citizens will be cared for by their families at home. But the reality is different. Young people are migrating to cities in search of work, leaving the elderly in rural areas completely alone. There is a lack of adequate pensions and good health care in rural areas. “This is why these senior citizens are easily vulnerable to scams,” the report said. –agency
