China to launch national medical insurance by 2019

Urban and rural residents will enjoy equal benefits.

China is set to roll out a unified national medical insurance service by 2019 where urban and rural residents alike will enjoy equal benefits, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua. 

Local governments that have not yet implemented the service are urged to operationalise the plan as soon as possible to meet the deadline, a joint notice from the ministries of Finance, Human Resources and Social Security, the National Health Commission and the administration added.

The government started the standardisation process in 2017 after the realisation that rural residents had medical insurance schemes that were lagging the quality of their urban counterparts.

Under the scheme, each citizen receives a minimum $72 (CNY 490) from the government in his or her medical insurance account a year on average and is required to deposit 220 yuan from his or her pocket.