Poor households cannot get their insurance cards and hospital admission papers returned because they owe the commune's 'fees'.
Without completing their contributions to the village or commune, households cannot have their school admission records, hospital certificates, job applications, etc. notarized.
This strange thing is happening in Luong Noi commune, Ba Thuoc district of Thanh Hoa province.
Informing the press, Ms. Bui Thi Theu (Son village, Luong Noi commune) was upset: “Last month, I had a stomachache and wanted to get a certificate to go to the district hospital, but because I didn’t have enough money to contribute to the commune and village, they didn’t let me receive my insurance card. Even though my household is poor, I had to go to a private clinic for an examination. Not only that, I have two children who are in school, and each time I have to make a file, a CV of 9-10 sets, I have to pay nearly 400,000 VND, and I have to borrow money to pay for confirmation and notarization. Before that, in September 2016, I wanted to see my child at Thanh Hoa Children’s Hospital, I went to the commune to ask for confirmation but the commune didn’t allow it because my family was short of money for construction, a total of 300,000 VND.”
Some other households in Luong Noi commune are also in a situation where the village does not return health insurance cards even though they are from disadvantaged areas.
Mrs. Truong Thi Tham's family had their health insurance card "suspended" because they still owed 550,000 VND in construction fees. Photo: Minh Thuong
Mrs. Truong Thi Tham (56 years old, Son village) recalled: “Not long ago, my son got sick and had to go to the hospital. When the family went to the village cultural house to get the insurance card, the village chief did not give it to them because my family owed 550,000 VND for school construction contributions. After explaining, they were only able to give out one card, and the other members’ insurance cards were kept, and they promised to give out the rest when they brought the money. Up to now, the remaining cards have not been given out.”
Mr. Bui Minh Quyen - Chairman of Luong Noi Commune People's Committee talked with reporters about the commune's "unusual" regulations. Photo: Minh Thuong
Mr. Bui Minh Quyen - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Noi Commune explained: "As a citizen, we must comply with state regulations. If any household has not contributed enough, there are two ways to get a stamp and signature to confirm. If a household needs to go to the hospital or has a child applying for school, we will create preferential conditions. If a household has not paid enough money to the village or commune but applies for a job in a company, it will not be allowed to stamp or sign the documents."
As soon as the reporter mentioned a series of cases of "accusing" the commune of obstructing people from requesting confirmation of hospital admission, school admission, and work, Mr. Bui Minh Quyen promised to check.
Along with the information about not confirming documents, hospital records, school admissions, and employment records when not completing all types of contribution fees, previously, in Thanh Hoa, strange things also happened: buffaloes and cows had to pay fees to graze in the fields; a male student in Yen Thinh commune, Yen Dinh district had his resume criticized by the commune chairman...
