More than 72 percent of village clinics in China are now covered by the national medical insurance system, as part of the country’s efforts to improve healthcare services in rural areas, according to the National Health Security Administration.
According to statistics from the administration, there are currently 580,000 village clinics nationwide, of which about 100,000 are designated as institutions covered by basic medical insurance. In addition, services provided by 320,000 clinics can now be reimbursed at district health centers.
The inclusion of village clinics in China’s medical insurance system is a crucial measure to meet the growing healthcare needs of rural residents and improve access to medical treatment and medicine for common illnesses, a senior administration official said in a statement Monday.
In order to ensure that all villages have access to medical insurance services, the administration and the National Health Commission jointly issued a document in late July, pledging to include all eligible village clinics in the list of medical insurance institutions by the end of 2024.
In addition, the official highlighted ongoing efforts to improve a long-term mechanism that helps prevent people from falling into poverty due to illness, and to extend basic medical insurance coverage to low-income rural populations.
