Can China halt the exodus from its state health insurance scheme as enthusiasm wanes?
- Over 25 million dropped out of the voluntary urban and rural residents’ health insurance scheme in 2022 due to rising premiums, lower incomes and a lack of awareness
- A falling participation rate is threatening the sustainability of the system, with provincial-level governments and cities seeking to boost enrolment for this year
A slew of local governments across China have postponed the deadline for enrolment in this year’s state health insurance scheme covering urban and rural residents amid declining levels of participation, which are largely attributed to surging premiums.
Directives issued over the past few weeks have vowed to persuade more people to contribute to the voluntary scheme, which covers roughly just over 70 per cent of China’s 1.4 billion population.
At least seven provincial-level governments, as well as dozens of cities from seven other provinces, have announced extensions for subscribers to join the scheme, which is intended for anyone who is not formally employed and is managed by the local governments.
Serving as one of the two pillars of China’s basic medical insurance system – the other being a mandatory plan for urban employees – the urban and rural residents’ scheme typically requires subscribers to pay the annual premium before the start of the year.