China unifies medicine catalog covered by medical insurance
China has unified the catalog of medicines covered by medical insurance across the country to ensure that all medicines in the catalog are placed under a unified management and payment policy.
This measure is driven not only by fairness but also aims to streamline the process of settling medical expenses where they are incurred, said Huang Xinyu, an official of the National Healthcare Security Administration, at a press conference on Thursday.
The official added that since its inception in 2018, the National Healthcare Security Administration has continuously made dynamic adjustments to the catalog of medicines covered by medical insurance, including adding over 700 new medicines to the list.
To date, the catalog has included about 3,900 kinds of medicines, covering both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, accounting for over 90 percent of the total expenditure on medicine purchases in public hospitals, according to Huang.
Huang said the administration is also working to make medicines more affordable through multiple means, including negotiation. During the first two months of this year, medical insurance funds had paid over 15 billion yuan (about 2.11 billion U.S. dollars) for 397 kinds of medicines covered by price agreements, benefiting 39.5 million people.
Related articles
- Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up routine was interrupted by a pro-Palestine protester who stood up near the2024-05-22
Facebook and Instagram down in apparent global outages
Photo: AFP2024-05-22Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh step in for cancer
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have stepped in for King Charles as they watch French soldiers gua2024-05-22Costco member spotted returning vintage item from 2002 under retailer's 'unlimited grace period'
A viral photo showing a person returning an old TV from the early 2000s to Costco has again put the2024-05-22Key evidence in the 'burking' murder trial was 'hidden' from defence lawyers
Key evidence which undermined the police case against a man convicted of the so-called 'burking' mur2024-05-22Seafood shocker: Warning shrimp and lobster contain dangerous levels of cancer
Those who like to indulge in sushi buffets or treat themselves to a lobster dinner should beware - t2024-05-22
atest comment