China further expands basic medical insurance portfolio

BEIJING -- China has opted for a further expansion of its basic medical insurance portfolio through enriching its medical insurance drug catalog, increasing centralized medicine procurement, and including more medical services in the scheme, a Saturday conference on medical insurance work revealed.

According to details released at this industry work conference, 91 new drugs have been added to the latest national medical insurance drug catalog, bringing the total number to 3,159, while the most recent round of the centralized procurement initiative has reduced the prices of another 62 medicines for Chinese patients.

In addition, the majority of Chinese localities have added assisted reproduction services to the scope of medical insurance reimbursement, benefiting more than a million people so far this year, according to the work conference.

As a result of a nationwide campaign to fight medical insurance-related fraud, a total of 24.23 billion yuan (about $3.4 billion) worth of medical insurance funds had been recovered by relevant departments at all levels from January to November 2024, said the conference.