July 26, 2024

China's Medical Insurance System Sees Stable Growth and Enhanced Services in 2023

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China's medical insurance system demonstrated stable operation in 2023, with significant improvements in service delivery and the 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 over the past year.

Enhanced Cross-Regional Medical Services

The convenience of cross-regional medical visits has improved. By the end of 2023, China had integrated over 550,000 medical and pharmaceutical institutions into the national medical insurance network for trans-provincial bill settlements. This network includes approximately 198,000 medical institutions and 352,400 pharmacies.

In 2023, there were 243 million cross-regional outpatient, emergency room, and inpatient visits, involving medical expenses totaling 711.1 billion yuan (about 997.04 million U.S. dollars). These figures marked a substantial increase from 2022, which recorded 110 million visits and expenses of 521.7 billion yuan.

Increased Accessibility and Coverage

The national healthcare insurance program delivered 2.61 billion medical and healthcare services to Chinese citizens in 2023, representing a 21.1 percent year-on-year increase. By the end of the year, the program had built the world's largest basic healthcare insurance network, covering over 95 percent of China's population.

Efforts to Reduce Medical Costs

China's centralized bulk drug procurement initiative continues to play a significant role in reducing medical expenses. In 2023, two procurement batches involved 80 drugs, resulting in an average price reduction of 57 percent. Currently, more than 3,000 Western and traditional Chinese medicines are included in the national basic healthcare insurance scheme, with a growing number of cancer and rare disease treatments added to the list.

Ongoing Reforms and Future Plans

China remains committed to further reforming its medical and healthcare systems. Planned measures include enhancing the public health system, upgrading community-level medical and healthcare services, and deepening public hospital reforms. Additionally, a new round of updates to the catalog of insurance-covered medicines is underway this year, expected to provide even greater benefits to the public, according to Zhu Weiguo, a medical insurance official at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.