About 2.3 million unemployed residents and children in Shanghai
will be eligible for medical insurance from next year, making the
city the first in the country to provide such coverage.
The unemployed, children and people from other provinces and
regions marrying local residents will be added to the Residence
Medical Insurance System from January 1, the city government said.
It will mean that almost every person with local residency will
have some form of medical insurance.
The present medical insurance system covers about 13 million
residents, or almost 95 percent of the population, including the
employed, farmers, students and the elderly over 70.
"However, there are still a number of residents not being
covered by the medical insurance policy, resulting in financial
difficulties in receiving medical services. This new policy is a
meaningful addition to the current system," said Zhou Haiyang,
director of the Shanghai Medical Insurance Bureau.
Under the new system, people over 18 can be reimbursed 50 to 70
percent of hospital fees and 50 percent of outpatient and emergency
treatment costs depending on age. Fees for students under 18 and
babies who need outpatient or emergency treatment, or who need to
admitted to hospital, will be reimbursed 50 percent.
To encourage people to go to neighborhood health centers for
treatment, the system will cover 60 percent of out-patient
costs.
Since people joining the new system should use their own social
insurance cards to get registered and pay medical costs in
hospital, the local government has speeded up the card distribution
process, and detailed information is available on local government
Websites, including shanghai.gov.cn, ybj.sh.gov.cn,
shanghaiit.gov.cn and 962222.net.
According to officials, the money to pay for the system comes
from people's annual payments of between 60 yuan (US$8.13) to 480
yuan for different age groups and from the government, which will
also give a subsidy to those with difficulty in paying.
The city government is to allocate about 450 million yuan
annually to cover the medical costs, officials said.
Local residents can call a hotline (962218) or check the Website
of Shanghai Medical Insurance Bureau (www.shyb.gov.cn) to find out
about the new medical insurance system.
(Shanghai Daily December 21, 2007)
