China's medical bill settlement policy benefits more migrant individuals

BEIJING -- More migrant individuals seeking medical treatment have benefited from China's refined policy for cross-provincial on-the-spot settlement of medical bills through basic medical insurance accounts.

Under the current basic medical insurance scheme, rural migrant workers, elderly people who relocate to be with their children, and other migrant individuals are allowed to directly settle their medical expenses incurred outside their home provinces.

From July to September, the total number of direct settlements of cross-provincial medical bills reached 36.4 million, a quarterly increase of 27.7 percent, according to the latest figures released by the National Healthcare Security Administration.

On-the-spot settlement of cross-provincial inpatient medical bills was realized at about 78,200 designated medical institutions nationwide, with over 3.1 million settlements completed during the period from July to September.

Direct settlements of cross-provincial outpatient expenses also saw an uptick in the third quarter of 2023, totaling 33.3 million cases, the administration said.

China's basic medical insurance schemes provide coverage for approximately 1.36 billion people, with the coverage rate currently above 95 percent of the total population.