Yang Shi Wang·2025-11-12 07:52Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the ongoing misuse of medical insurance cards in China, where non-medical products are being fraudulently classified as medical devices to allow consumers to purchase everyday items using their insurance funds [1][3][5]. Group 1: Misuse of Medical Insurance Cards - Various pharmacies are openly promoting the ability to use medical insurance cards for purchasing daily necessities, such as toothbrushes and skincare products, which violates regulations that restrict insurance funds to medical-related expenses [3][5]. - Investigations reveal that some products, like "dental brushes" and "medical dressings," are essentially ordinary items but are labeled as medical devices to facilitate insurance payments [7][10][14][17]. - A significant number of consumers are being encouraged to exploit these loopholes, with online platforms sharing strategies for using insurance cards to buy non-medical items [3][5]. Group 2: Pharmaceutical Companies' Role - Companies are producing everyday products under the guise of medical devices, claiming they are "cleaner and safer" to attract consumers and increase profits [24][26]. - A specific company reported a substantial contract worth 90 million yuan for supplying these products to nearly 20,000 pharmacies, indicating a lucrative market for such practices [26][28]. - The production of these items is described as legal and compliant, as they possess the necessary medical coding to qualify for insurance payments, despite their actual use being unrelated to medical care [30][28]. Group 3: Impact on the Market - In Gansu, a chain of pharmacies is prominently displaying "medical skincare products" that are registered as medical devices, allowing them to be purchased with insurance funds, despite being marketed as regular skincare items [32][34]. - The profitability of pharmacies is closely tied to the ability to process insurance claims, leading to aggressive promotion of these products [38][39]. - A specific company revealed that approximately 60% of its sales in Gansu are processed through insurance payments, amounting to an estimated 6 million yuan being drawn from consumers' insurance accounts [45].