2024.11.03

The National Healthcare Security Administration stated, "We appreciate the active cooperation of Dong'e Ejiao Company, which has played the role of a whistleblower in combating fraud and insurance scams."

On the evening of the specified date, the National Healthcare Security Administration provided further clarification on the matter. On the specified date, the National Healthcare Security Administration issued the "Announcement on Conducting Verification of Duplicate Drug Traceability Codes for Compound Ejiao Syrup," stating that it had discovered that some designated medical institutions were selling Compound Ejiao Syrup produced by Dong'e Ejiao Co., Ltd., which is eligible for medical insurance reimbursement, with duplicate drug traceability codes, and all involved medical insurance fund settlements. The cases of duplication involved more than or equal to 100 times, affecting medical institutions in 21 provinces. Taking the drug traceability code "01000001" listed in the announcement as an example, this single traceability code was settled 107 times in one hospital.

Compound Ejiao Syrup is a star product of Dong'e Ejiao. On the day, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) shared a statement from Dong'e Ejiao on its official WeChat account, acknowledging the company's proactive response to the matter. In the evening of the same day, the NHSA pinned a message in the comments section of the shared statement, stating that "the possibility of enterprises duplicating codes and large-scale forgery by criminals has been largely ruled out," and praised Dong'e Ejiao for "playing the role of a whistleblower in combating insurance fraud."

The National Healthcare Security Administration further explained that there are three possible reasons for repeated collection of drug traceability data: "First, the manufacturer has assigned incorrect codes, with the same traceability code printed on different packaging. Second, drugs with normal traceability codes are repeatedly swapped, resulting in empty medical insurance transactions and returns. Third, drugs are counterfeited by unscrupulous individuals, with the same traceability code affixed. Based on the current information available, the possibility of the first scenario of repeated code assignment by enterprises and the third scenario of large-scale counterfeiting has been largely ruled out."

The above explanation implies that the second possibility is the most likely, meaning that drugs with normal traceability codes have been repeatedly swapped, falsely billed for medical insurance, and returned, with the main issue occurring in the distribution process. Previous verification announcement documents from the National Healthcare Security Administration indicate that individual suspected violation samples involve medical chain enterprises such as the Pingdu Shengkangtang Clinic, Laobaixing Pharmacy, Xi'an Minjian Pharmacy, Haoyaoshi Chenshun Pharmacy, Baicaotang Pharmacy, Pingdu Guoyitang, Guizhou Yishu Pharmacy, Huaideren Pharmacy, and Laixi Han's Hospital. Among them, the Laixi Han's Hospital in Qingdao, Shandong, has the highest number of repeated traceability codes, totaling .

According to the data disclosed by Dong'e Ejiao, the proportion of Compound Ejiao Syrup in hospital channels was not high within the first half of this year, within %. This indicates that a significant portion of sales occurred outside of hospital channels, with clinics and chain pharmacies being the main drivers.

The National Healthcare Security Administration also stated in a pinned comment, "The National Healthcare Security Administration resolutely safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of pharmaceutical production and distribution enterprises and insured individuals, and resolutely combats fraud and insurance scams through methods such as swapping drugs, falsely using medical insurance, and returning drugs." "The National Healthcare Security Administration will focus on investigating the possibility of swapping drugs, falsely using medical insurance, and returning drugs, and will conduct in-depth investigations into why the same box of medication can be sold dozens of times to different insured individuals by the same hospital, clinic, or pharmacy, or repeatedly sold by different institutions, resolutely safeguarding the health rights and interests of the broad masses of the people."

In previous responses, Dong'e Ejiao also stated that "all compound Ejiao Jiang products produced are executed in accordance with relevant national laws and regulations, strictly adhering to the principle of one drug, one code. The phenomenon of duplicate traceability codes mentioned in the National Healthcare Security Administration's 'Announcement on Conducting Verification of Duplicate Traceability Codes in Compound Ejiao Jiang Medicines' is not due to our company."