CHINA's state health insurance system has lost 19 million subscribers, as higher costs have put one of the world's largest healthcare schemes out of reach for many people in a post-Covid economic downturn, reports London's Financial Times.
Enrollment across China's state-subsidised health insurance system, which covers more than 1.3 billion policyholders across multiple programmes, fell by an unprecedented 19 million people in 2022, according to official data.
Enrollment could fall further this year, officials and analysts have warned. Of the eight provinces that have reported enrollment data for the first nine months of 2023, seven showed a drop from a year earlier.
Government officials and healthcare analysts have attributed the jump in cancellations, which followed years of growth, to rising premiums and co-payments, limited coverage and declining household incomes.
This has put the costs of health insurance beyond many, particularly farmers and migrant workers who lack access to better urban and private benefit schemes.
SeaNews Turkey
Enrollment across China's state-subsidised health insurance system, which covers more than 1.3 billion policyholders across multiple programmes, fell by an unprecedented 19 million people in 2022, according to official data.
Enrollment could fall further this year, officials and analysts have warned. Of the eight provinces that have reported enrollment data for the first nine months of 2023, seven showed a drop from a year earlier.
Government officials and healthcare analysts have attributed the jump in cancellations, which followed years of growth, to rising premiums and co-payments, limited coverage and declining household incomes.
This has put the costs of health insurance beyond many, particularly farmers and migrant workers who lack access to better urban and private benefit schemes.
SeaNews Turkey