Multiple bribery incidents occurred in the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University in China, lasting as long as 11 years, and the cumulative amount involved was as high as RMB 184 million. Schematic diagram. (AFP file photo)
China's National Medical Insurance Administration reported today that multiple bribery incidents occurred at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University in China. More than 30 pharmaceutical companies had bribed hospital staff for a long time, lasting as long as 11 years, and the cumulative amount involved was as high as 184 million yuan (approximately NT$860 million).
According to the official website of the National Medical Insurance Administration of China, after a Shanghai science and trade firm was involved in a stent balloon bribery case and the Hebei Medical University Second Hospital received a "5,000 yuan kickback for each stent", in the second half of 2025 alone, the hospital was involved in 9 judicial and criminal judgments. The staff of the hospital accepted commercial bribes 46 times, with the maximum amount involved in a single case being 16.58 million yuan, the longest duration being 11 years, and the cumulative amount involved being 184 million yuan.
The report stated that analysis found that more than 30 pharmaceutical companies had long-term bribery of hospital staff, and 11 companies including Hebei Xiangen Medical Equipment Trading Co., Ltd., Beijing Jinkaihui Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., and Hebei Mingshi Medical Equipment Trading Co., Ltd. were involved in bribery crimes.
Among them, Hebei Xiangen Medical Equipment Trading Co., Ltd. paid a total of 20.64 million yuan in bribes to staff in order to sell medical consumables at inflated prices to the hospital. The pharmaceutical products involved include more than 30 types of medical consumables such as intraocular lenses, drug-eluting stent systems, and rapid exchange balloon dilation catheters. The cumulative bribe amount is approximately 174 million yuan.
In addition, there are 10 drugs involved in bribery, including naproxen sodium for injection, Oxiracetam injection, etc., with a cumulative bribe amount of approximately 10 million yuan.
The report said that gray interests in commercial bribery in China's pharmaceutical purchase and sales field are intertwined. Some illegal pharmaceutical companies use bribes to buy doctors' prescription rights and deliberately inflate their quotations to create space for bribery. They also disparage centralized procurement products and create a public opinion that "high prices are good products", paving the way for high-priced bribed drugs and equipment to enter hospitals.
In addition, many people in a few medical institutions in China have repeatedly accepted bribes from dozens of pharmaceutical companies over a long period of time, and the bribery behavior has continued for more than 10 years. "Don't buy the right ones, only buy the bribes." This deserves the attention of the competent authorities and supervisory authorities.
According to CCTV reports, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University was founded in 1918. It is a tertiary-level general hospital (the highest level hospital in China). It currently has the hospital headquarters, Luquan campus and Zhengding campus, and has a total of 116 clinical medical technology departments.
