The fact that doctors in private hospitals are affiliated with BAĞ-KUR can lead to corruption.

Social Security Chief Expert İsa Karakaş stated regarding the investigation into the ‘Newborn Gang’ that many private hospitals have reached agreements with, “It should be considered that the doctors in private hospitals being registered under BAĞ-KUR leads to the occurrence of corruptions.”

Private hospitals have become the preferred choice of citizens due to the increasing number and quality. However, recent issues related to additional charge imbalances, illegal incidents, and practices contrary to SGK regulations in some private health centers and hospitals have left citizens with questions in their minds. Social Security Chief Expert and Turkey Newspaper writer İsa Karakaş evaluated the additional charges applied in private hospitals and the importance of doctors’ working regulations in this context to İhlas News Agency reporters.

Karakaş pointed out that all citizens who are SSK, BAĞ-KUR, or subject to the Pension Fund have the opportunity to receive treatment in the private hospitals they wish, stating, “In practice, we see that private hospitals do not comply with social security regulations and the contracts made with SGK. When any citizen goes to a private hospital for treatment, it is legal for them to charge additional fees at most twice the treatment cost. This additional fee must not exceed the minimum wage. However, we observe that some private hospitals do not comply with this. Because we see that the penalties applied in this regard are extremely insufficient. If a citizen has been charged an additional fee in a private hospital and SGK has detected this, only a penalty of five times the treatment cost is applicable,” he explained.

Karakaş noted that the majority of citizens do not complain about the additional fee practices in private hospitals because they are unaware of them and stated that some hospitals have gained substantial unjust profits due to this.

“There needs to be a sign regarding additional fees.”

Stating that private hospitals are required to display a sign indicating which treatment services will incur additional fees according to SGK regulations, Karakaş said, “If this sign is not displayed, SGK only imposes a fine of 31,692 Turkish Lira. We see that this penalty, valid for 2024, is certainly far from being deterrent. Under these circumstances, since citizens are not sufficiently aware of this issue and do not know how to claim their rights, we know that private hospitals are making substantial profits through additional fees and inflated invoices,” he stated.

“No additional fees should be charged to veterans and martyrs’ relatives.”

Karakaş also mentioned that additional fees should not be charged to certain citizens, stating, “For example, veterans, relatives of martyrs, and other individuals listed in the health implementation regulation. In some treatments, private hospitals should not charge any additional fees. Particularly for emergency services, cancer treatments, hemodialysis diseases, and other diseases mentioned in the health implementation regulation, private hospitals should not charge any difference. However, we still see that some hospitals do charge.”

“Complaints about excessive additional fees should be made to SGK or the Provincial Health Directorate.”

Karakaş warned citizens about private hospitals charging excessive additional fees, stating, “If a citizen has been charged an excessive fee or sees a high invoice, they should first request a detailed invoice from the hospital. They should also ensure to pay with a credit card along with the detailed invoice for easier proof. Therefore, if the treatment fee on the invoice exceeds twice the amount and the minimum wage, they should request the difference from the hospital. If the hospital does not provide this, they should definitely file a complaint with the SGK or the Provincial Health Directorate in that city. This way, it will be possible to recover the additional fee and also for the hospital to face necessary sanctions.

Karakaş emphasized the importance of SGK and working regulations in the investigation regarding the claims that individuals working in the 112 Emergency Call Center collaborated to transfer newborn emergency patients to previously agreed private hospitals, leading to deaths and unjust profits. He pointed out that many abuses stem from the system, saying, “When we look at these hospitals, we see that most of them are actually flagged. We know that there have been repeated violations of the contracts made with SGK in the past. Despite this, their engagement in such activities and the absence of revocation of their licenses unfortunately leads to many inhumane events occurring.”

“All treatment procedures performed by doctors in private hospitals need to be thoroughly examined.”

Karakaş stated that not only hospitals but also doctors are being investigated regarding this issue, saying, “All treatment procedures performed by doctors in private hospitals need to be examined in detail on a doctor-by-doctor basis, and risk analysis should be conducted to prevent such procedures from happening again. Additionally, if these hospitals have engaged in such actions in the past, their activities should be terminated, and if necessary, the state should take over these hospitals.”

“The fact that doctors in private hospitals are registered under BAĞ-KUR should be taken into consideration as it leads to corruptions.”

Karakaş also mentioned that for unlawful incidents to not occur in private hospitals, SGK needs to revise contracts related to private hospitals and change the working conditions of doctors in private hospitals, stating, “One of the most important issues in private hospitals is the working conditions of doctors. Looking at the history of SGK, we see that doctors work according to service contracts and are registered under SSK. However, due to a regulation that contradicts social security technique, doctors are invoicing, being registered under BAĞ-KUR, and consequently, instead of focusing on treating patients healthily, they are in a situation where they attend to more patients as they invoice per patient. One of the most important points in eliminating such incidents is that the practice of doctors invoicing is contrary to social security regulations and leads to corruptions. This practice should be abandoned. Private hospitals should employ their doctors under the status of employees working according to service contracts 4/1-a.”