The National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) and the National Health Commission (NHC), along with three other bureaus, have issued a Notice on “Carrying out the Special Action for Children to Participate in Basic Medical Insurance (BMI)”. The notice outlines an ambitious target to ensure that 80% of newborns in China are covered by BMI schemes within the first year of their life by the end of 2024.
According to the regulations, newborns are to be insured within 90 days post birth, with payments to be made concurrently. Medical expenses incurred from the date of birth that adhere to the stipulated regulations are eligible for medical insurance reimbursement. Within 180 days after birth, their medical costs can be directly settled at designated medical facilities using their medical insurance identification code. The notice calls on all regions to encourage insurance coverage for children with local household registration (hukou) permits, to ease hukou restrictions for children, and to facilitate out-of-province registered children to participate in insured healthcare where they reside permanently and are enrolled in school. The government is committed to studying and refining incentives and constraints to boost insurance participation, maximizing the role of family doctors in the process. Furthermore, insured employees are enabled to use their personal medical insurance accounts to cover their children’s personal contributions to residential medical insurance.- Flcube.com
