The Chinese government is further pushing for a program that would provide medical insurance to low-income individuals, according to a report by China Daily.
Adopted as a pilot program in Chongqing in 2013, the new program covers 27 million rural residents and unemployed urban residents who have recently signed up for the local basic medical insurance program.
The potential benefits look promising as Ding Yazhen attests. After she was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer last year, the 43-year-old resident of Xiushan County was about to lose hope until she found out that the insurance program would cover a significant amount of the total expense. Ding only paid 5,000 yuan for the four-day chemotherapy procedure, while the program covered her remaining balance of 6,000 yuan.
"The medical insurance for chronic diseases has really taken a weight off my shoulders," said Ding, who earns a living by farming and undertaking odd jobs. "It gives me hope to fight the disease."
The program is expected to cover all urban and rural residents who have signed up by the end of the year, with the exception of people working in urban areas who have subscribed to a different insurance program, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
The program reimburses individuals up to 50 percent of medical costs not covered by the national basic medical insurance system. Currently, it is being applied in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, covering 700 million citizens.
"The medical insurance program for chronic disease is focused on alleviating health poverty," said Zhang Peilin, president of the Ninth People's Hospital of Chongqing
He further added that the hospital treated about 40,000 people last year. Nearly 2,000 patients with chronic diseases, such as cancer, benefited from the program through reimbursement of up to 40 percent of their medical bills.