About 2.3 million unemployed residents in Shanghai will be
eligible for medical insurance starting next year, making the city
the first in the country to give this group such coverage.
The unemployed, including children, will be added to the
Residence Medical Insurance System starting January 1, the
municipal government announced today. It means that almost every
resident in the city will have some form of medical insurance.
The insurance will cover 40 to 50 percent of the medical
expenses of the unemployed.
Presently, only employed or self-employed people with a serious
disability have medical insurance while unemployed residents are
responsible for paying their own medical bills.
Under the new system, those above the age of 70 can be
reimbursed 70 percent of ordinary outpatient costs and 50 percent
of fees on hospitalization. Students under the age of 18 and babies
can be reimbursed 50 percent on both outpatient costs and
hospitalization.
The city government will allocate about 450 million yuan
(US$60.98 million) annually to cover the medical costs.
Thus far, about 13 million residents, or nearly 95 percent of
the population with the right to live in Shanghai, have joined the
city's medical insurance system.
(Shanghai Daily December 20, 2007)