Nearly 1.4 billion covered by health insurance in China

China's healthcare plans had covered 1.36 billion residents by the end of last year after the country worked for decades to create a sturdier insurance safety net in the world's most populous nation, a white paper said on Thursday.

Further, maternity insurance, which compensates costs related to childbirth and offers subsidies to insured new mothers, had covered 235 million people by the end of 2020, as the country works to bolster fertility to slow the aging process, said the white paper released by the State Council Information Office.

Meanwhile, by June, 467 million urbanites and 547 million rural residents had been covered by the pension fund system, a major source of income for older people in China, the report said.

It also said by that month, 273 million had been covered by work injury insurance, a crucial part of China's job securities package that provides compensation for workplace injuries or death and also pays funeral costs.

Titled Moderate Prosperity in All Respects: Another Milestone Achieved in China's Human Rights, the report said China had secured socioeconomic, cultural, educational and environmental rights for its people during the process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.