Nanyang medical assistance program benefits thousands

Nanyang's medical assistance program, which aims to help local impoverished residents shake off poverty resulting from diseases, has been remarkably successful since it came into effect on July 1, 2017.

Under the program, impoverished residents with a Nanyang hukou (household registration) can apply for a medical assistance subsidy in addition to the basic, critical illness, and supplementary medical insurances. The subsidy comes from municipal and county-level government finances.

As of June 25, Nanyang had allocated 47.75 million yuan ($7 million) in subsidies to 586,000 patients. The subsidies went mainly to three types of patients, including outpatients diagnosed with one of 19 specific chronic diseases, or one of 27 specific serious diseases, as well as impoverished inpatients.

Over the past year, 442,000 outpatients were recognized to have chronic diseases and enjoyed a reimbursement rate of 89.5 percent, of which 25 percent came from the subsidy. Another 16,000 outpatients with serious diseases were reimbursed for 94 percent of their medical expenses, 14 percent higher than in the past.

Meanwhile, 129,000 people were covered by a reimbursement network for inpatient services and enjoyed a compensation rate of up to 80 percent, 10 percent of which comes from the medical assistance subsidy.

The program ensures that individuals pay less than 10 percent of their medical expenses after their medical insurance reimbursement and subsidy. This effectively alleviates the problem of people who fall into poverty or return to poverty due to illness.

According to a press conference on June 28, a specialized fund of 74.48 million yuan was set up to subsidize 444,600 rural poor people from 158,000 impoverished households in 468 poor villages that have been included in a medical assistance database.