China to double medical insurance premium for rural residents; discharges former SFDA exec

7 January 2011

The Chinese government plans to double the annual medical insurance premium for rural residents in the coming five years, giving these people a bigger reimbursement on their medical bills, reports the local Xinhau news agency.

The annual premium per person will be raised from the current 155 renminbi ($23.4) to 300 renminbi, Minister of Health Chen Zhu said yesterday. Mr Chen said that more than 90% of the rural population had joined the New Rural Cooperative Medical Care System (NCMS) in 2010, a medical insurance scheme for villagers. The government currently pays 126 renminbi out of the 155-renminbi premium, but it did not say whether it intends to pay more in the future.

Last year, China increased compensation for rural children suffering from critical illnesses - with the insurance scheme now covering more than 70% of the costs in treating these children with leukemia and congenital heart disease.

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