Medical insurance covering all urban residents will be launched
on a trial basis in some cities this year, according to
Vice-Premier Wu Yi. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the
first meeting of the joint conference established to oversee the
program.
The insurance, designed to cover city residents with no work
unit for medical coverage, is part of the ambitious plan to
establish national medical insurance.All those who work in
State-owned or other enterprises are already covered by the medical
insurance fund contributed to jointly by the State, enterprises and
workers.
Cooperative medical insurance covers many rural villagers. But
students, self-employed urbanites and the unemployed have no
medical coverage unless they buy commercial medical insurance on
their own.
Those without medical insurance may be left bankrupt or without
medical care if faced with serious medical problems.
The new insurance coverage will be paid for by local
governments, the central government and the individuals covered. In
principle, it will cover major medical bills for all urban
residents buying coverage.
In fact, quite a number of cities have already launched
insurance programs on a trial basis. Different models are being
tried to give adequate medical coverage to city dwellers.
Good intentions are not enough. Universal healthcare is a
complicated process with competing models. Whatever approach is
used demands detailed design to extend maximum benefits within an
affordable system.
That is why the central authorities have repeatedly emphasized
that medical insurance coverage be extended gradually on a trial
basis and that experience from different localities be analyzed for
national policies.
The much desired benefit of national medical coverage has at
last been embarked on. Unfortunately, there can be no
shortcuts.
(China Daily May 17, 2007)