Xinhua News Agency:

What's the current rate of participation in the basic medical insurance system in China? In addition, how will we achieve the two tasks outlined in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, namely making sure the system covers the entire population and expanding the coverage of social insurance programs? Thank you.

Shi Zihai:

Thank you very much for your questions. I will answer them. Expanding medical insurance to cover the entire population is a fundamental and comprehensive task in the development of medical insurance programs. Since the establishment of the NHSA, it has always prioritized the implementation of full coverage of medical insurance. The administration has worked tirelessly to expand the coverage of medical insurance and improve its quality by optimizing policies, upgrading services, removing impediments in the system, and pressing forward with responsibilities. In recent years, the coverage of medical insurance has stabilized at above 95%. By the end of last year, the total number of people covered by the country's basic medical insurance reached 1.34592 billion, including 362.43 million people covered by the basic medical insurance system for working urban residents and 983.49 million covered by basic medical insurance system for non-working urban residents. As you mentioned, the 20th National Congress of the CPC clearly outlined the requirements of making sure the system covers the entire population and expanding the coverage of social insurance programs. To implement the tasks, we will focus on the following aspects:

First, we will enhance the precision of expanding medical insurance coverage through data comparison. We will establish and refine the data sharing mechanism in collaboration with relevant departments. Efforts will be made to strengthen data comparison and improve the medical insurance database that covers the entire population, enabling real-time and dynamic data tracking. Additionally, by leveraging the unified national medical insurance information platform built last year, we will expand data comparison efforts from a provincial level to a national scope. This will allow us to identify individuals with discontinued social security contribution or not even covered by the system. By eliminating instances of duplicate insurance, we will effectively promote the accuracy of expanded medical insurance coverage across various provinces.

Second, we will focus on expanding medical insurance coverage in a more targeted manner through inter-departmental coordination. We will establish communication and collaboration mechanisms with education departments to ensure that more college students are covered by medical insurance. Additionally, we will strengthen cooperation with health departments and utilize the mechanism of a "one-stop service for birth-related matters" to ensure that newborns are covered by medical insurance promptly. Furthermore, we will enhance our medical insurance services for the migrant population and rural migrant workers.

Third, we will grant easier access to medical insurance by upgrading services. We will strengthen cooperation with tax authorities to facilitate the public to enroll in medical insurance and pay contributions through a unified online platform or at one single office that offers integrated services. By offering a "one-stop" service, we will make it easier for people to access medical insurance services.

Fourth, we will ensure the long-term effectiveness of our efforts of expanding coverage by improving policies. We will refine the individual payment mechanism for medical insurance and encourage more working people to participate in insurance in the places where they receive medical treatment or their permanent residence. These efforts will support the orderly movement of people across provinces and cities and promote the high-quality implementation of full coverage of medical insurance. Thank you!