As of December 9, China has taken significant steps to reform its health insurance program, enabling more individuals to share their personal account balances with close relatives to cover medical expenses.
Under the nationwide program, eligible holders of employee health insurance can now link their personal accounts to the health insurance of close relatives through online channels, providing shared access to funds, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) announced on Thursday.
In recent years, China has continuously reformed its health insurance system, gradually extending the use of employee personal accounts to family members. In 2021, the government expanded coverage to include spouses, parents, and children. This July, the scope was further broadened to encompass “close relatives,” such as siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
According to data from the NHSA, between January and November 2024, around 325 million instances of shared use of employee health insurance personal accounts were recorded.
During this period, 34.31 billion yuan (approximately $4.77 billion) was utilized for personal medical expenses at designated healthcare institutions. Additionally, 2.07 billion yuan was spent at designated retail pharmacies, and 7.48 billion yuan covered various purposes, including individual contributions to the residential basic health insurance program.
Currently, all provincial regions in China have implemented the sharing of employee health insurance personal accounts within their respective areas, with cross-provincial sharing still being rolled out.
The ability for close relatives to share personal accounts across provincial regions is expected to significantly reduce family healthcare costs, enhance resilience against medical risks, and allow family members in different provinces to efficiently manage and allocate funds for medical needs.
“Cross-provincial sharing involves over 300 million employees and nearly 1 billion residents covered by health insurance, making it a large-scale reform,” said Huang Huabo, deputy director of the NHSA. “This program is expected to be fully operational by 2025, ensuring more sustainable and accessible healthcare for all.”
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
