Insurance reimbursement for serious diseases rises

The authorities will raise the reimbursement rate of the insurance scheme for serious diseases to 60 percent, up by 10 percentage points from last year, an official notice said on Friday.

The notice, jointly released by the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Ministry of Finance, said that government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and nonworking urban residents will be raised by 30 yuan ($4.40) to reach no less than 520 yuan per capita annually. In the meanwhile, premiums paid by the insured will also be increased by 30 yuan.

The notice said half of the increased subsidies will be used for the insurance against serious disease. It also called for increases in the reimbursement rate for inpatient expenses and to include outpatient medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes into the medical insurance reimbursement list.

China's serious disease insurance program covered about 1.05 billion people by the end of last year.