The registration fee for public hospitals has been uniformly waived, and the policy of caring for the elderly has been implemented. Now, we elderly people have another expense to pay for medical treatment. "Recently, during a case follow-up visit at a public hospital in the jurisdiction, Rao Guanglan, a prosecutor from the Public Interest Litigation Department of Qijiang District Procuratorate in Chongqing, met Zhou Guangming, an elderly person who came to seek medical treatment. In his words, Zhou Guangming expressed the warmth he felt towards the policy of benefiting the people. Behind this, there is a story of 'you can't overcharge this 50 cents'. As early as March 2018, the "Regulations on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly in Chongqing" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") came into effect. The Regulation stipulates that elderly people who seek medical treatment in public medical institutions are exempt from paying ordinary examination fees. Ordinary examination fee, also known as "registration fee". Rao Guanglan learned during her visit that since the implementation of the Regulations, many public hospitals in the local area have not strictly implemented the provisions of the Regulations. Previously, the general examination fee for public hospitals in the jurisdiction was 9 yuan. For elderly people over 60 years old, excluding the 7 yuan paid by the overall plan, the remaining 2 yuan was completely waived by some public hospitals; Some hospitals have reduced their fees by 1.5 yuan, but individuals still need to pay 0.5 yuan out of pocket. There are currently two tertiary public hospitals in the entire region, with an average of 100000 consultations per year for elderly people aged 60 and above. This 50 cents may not be a lot for individuals, but it is a significant amount for the elderly population. Moreover, it is not just a matter of numbers, but also related to the implementation of policies that benefit the people Rao Guanglan said. After conducting a visit and investigation, Rao Guanglan found that many hospital staff were not familiar with the content of the "Regulations", and some hospitals had high costs and technical difficulties in upgrading their information systems. They also failed to adjust and optimize the examination fee charging process in a timely manner. After the promulgation of the Regulation, as the competent department of medical and health institutions, the Qijiang District Health Commission did not pay attention to it, nor did it introduce specific measures to implement the regulations, resulting in the hospital not exempting ordinary examination fees according to the new regulations. For the above issues, the Qijiang District Health Commission has failed to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities, and the welfare of exemption from examination fees is hanging on paper. In May 2023, the Qijiang District Procuratorate issued a prosecutorial recommendation to the District Health Commission, suggesting that the district health commission fulfill its responsibility of protecting the rights and interests of the elderly, guide public medical institutions in its jurisdiction to implement the regulations on reducing and exempting examination fees, and waive ordinary examination fees for elderly people over 60 years old who seek medical treatment. After receiving the prosecutorial suggestions issued by the Qijiang District Procuratorate, the Qijiang District Health Commission immediately convened a work scheduling meeting with the heads of medical institutions in its jurisdiction to formulate a special rectification plan. Shortly after the dispatch meeting, various medical institutions upgraded and renovated their outpatient billing systems one after another. We also guide and supervise various medical institutions to set up green channels for elderly medical treatment, clarify the links where ordinary examination fees are exempted, and reduce the waiting time for elderly people in line A staff member from the Qijiang District Health Commission said that in order to promote the implementation of policies that benefit the people, the district health commission actively coordinates special funds and guides public hospitals to upgrade and transform the self-service registration machine charging system. The upgraded system has added the function of independently identifying elderly people over 60 years old and automatically exempting ordinary examination fees. At the same time, the Qijiang District Health Commission has also set up a special inspection team, which combines regular inspections with random checks to comprehensively supervise the implementation of the reduction and exemption policies for medical institutions in the entire district. When we evaluated the effectiveness of the rectification, we found that some hospitals' online appointment registration mini programs are still charging ordinary examination fees for the elderly, "said Rao Guanglan. To this end, the Qijiang District Procuratorate, together with the District Health Commission and two large public hospitals, held a rectification work promotion meeting, pressing the "acceleration button" to achieve full coverage of "online+offline" rectification. Taking note of the universality of the above-mentioned issues, the Chongqing Procuratorate has also launched a special inspection campaign for public interest litigation in the field of protecting the rights and interests of the elderly throughout the city. As of April this year, all 38 public medical institutions at or above the second level in Chongqing have completed comprehensive rectification, marking the full implementation of the policy of benefiting the people in public medical institutions throughout the city. It is estimated that more than 30 million yuan in medical expenses can be saved for the elderly population every year. We will continue to increase supervision over the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly, ensure that various policies benefiting the people can be truly implemented, provide more convenient, efficient, and high-quality medical services for the elderly, and enable every elderly person to enjoy the fruits and warmth of social development The relevant person in charge of Chongqing Procuratorate said. (New Society)