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| Trần Thị Thảo, also known as Trần Phương Thảo, 43, of Sơn La City, allegedly admitted to police that she received VNĐ 200,000 (US$9) to make a fake “hospital transfer paper.” — Photo anninhthudo.vn |
HÀ NỘI —The Hà Nội Investigation Police have arrested a woman from the northern city of Sơn La for falsifying health insurance documents for patients to receive treatment at hospitals that are not their primary designated healthcare center.
Trần Thị Thảo, also known as Trần Phương Thảo, 43, of Sơn La City, allegedly admitted to police that she received VNĐ 200,000 (US$9) to make a fake “hospital transfer paper.” With the false paper, patients registered to receive treatment at Hà Nội’s Saint Paul Hospital can use their insurance benefits to be treated at another hospital of their choosing.
In Việt Nam, insurance card holders are encouraged to receive medical examinations and treatment at the primary healthcare centres at which they are registered. Only in serious cases are patients legally “transferred” to higher-level hospitals, such as central hospitals like Bạch Mai and Việt Đức. Many people, however, prefer central hospitals, leading to overcrowding.
Suspect Thảo also used a fake paper with the fake signature of Saint Paul Hospital’s director to blackmail him for VNĐ 150 million. She threatened that she would release the paper to media to blacken the hospital’s reputation.
On July 14, the hospital reported the blackmail to police. On July 17, when Thảo went to the hospital to take the money she had demanded, she was caught by police. At that time, she was carrying nine fake hospital transfer papers.
Police investigation also found each patient had to pay VNĐ3 million ($132) for a fake paper.— VNS
