In 2023, China's medical insurance system continued its steady operation, enhancing services for its people while ensuring the security and sustainability of medical insurance funds, according to a recent report.
The National Healthcare Security Administration released a statistical report on Thursday detailing the development of the country's medical insurance industry throughout the year.
Cross-regional medical visits became more convenient, with over 550,000 medical and pharmaceutical institutions integrated into the national medical insurance network by the end of last year. This included approximately 198,000 medical institutions and 352,400 pharmacies designated for trans-provincial settlement of medical bills.
Throughout the year, the total number of cross-regional outpatient visits, emergency room visits, and inpatient visits reached 243 million, involving 711.1 billion yuan (about $98.2 billion) in medical expenses. These figures marked a significant increase from 110 million visits and 521.7 billion yuan in 2022.
Medical and healthcare services covered by the national healthcare insurance program became more accessible, with 2.61 billion beneficial services delivered to Chinese residents in 2023, a 21.1 percent year-on-year increase.
China has established the world's largest basic healthcare insurance network, covering over 95 percent of its population by the end of 2023.
Centralized bulk drug procurement remained a key strategy to reduce medical expenses for citizens. In 2023, two rounds of purchases involved 80 drugs, leading to an average price reduction of 57 percent, as stated in the report.
Currently, more than 3,000 Western medicines and traditional Chinese medicines are included in the national basic healthcare insurance scheme. Additionally, an increasing number of drugs for treating cancers and rare diseases have been added to the list.
China has committed to further reforming its medical and healthcare systems. Planned reforms include enhancing the public health system, upgrading services at community-level medical and healthcare institutions, and deepening the reform of public hospitals.
Furthermore, a new round of updating the catalog of insurance-covered medicines commenced this year, which is expected to bring additional benefits to the population, said Zhu Weiguo, an official in charge of medical insurance at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital.
Reference(s):
Report shows steady improvement of China's medical insurance system
cgtn.com
