After years of hard work, medical security system covering urban and rural residents has been established in Tianjin, meeting the goal that every urban and rural resident should enjoy basic medical security.

The local urban worker’s basic medical insurance system was put into effect in 2001. Three security platforms of combining of individuals’ accounts and society’s planning as a whole, medical cost social pool for major diseases and medical assistance have been set up, which are expected to better solve the medical insurance problems of different social groups. Till the end of 2008, the population covered by the medical insurance system had reached 8.5 million, some 72.3 percent of the city’s regular population.

In 2003, Tianjin started a new rural cooperative medical system as a pilot program and widely promoted it in 2006. At present, the system has covered 12 districts and counties, 3,871 administrative villages, with 3.53 million people eligible for the insurance and the participating rate over 90 percent. The rural medical care situation has significantly improved with the farmers enjoying basic medical security.

While improving the medical security system, Tianjin has not only made a comprehensive plan on urban and rural medical insurance construction, but also adhered to one important principle that the system should be affordable and accessible to the people, especially to the disadvantaged.

In order to reduce the financial burden on individual patients, Tianjin improves its medical insurance benefits. Eight alleviating policies have taken effect, upgrading the refund percentage for the retired staff over 70 and working staff over 45 and lifting some of the pre-conditions. The population benefiting from these policies has reached 1.39 million and more than 40 million yuan is saved for the insured annually.

It is a common issue that enterprises with financial difficulty are not able to participate in insurance. In 2004, Tianjin took the lead to carry out medical cost social pool for major diseases for staff working in these enterprises. Judging from actual situation, the government will offer according subsidies to establish the program for the retired staff of relevant enterprises.

The two programs have met the medical treatment demand concerning major diseases for 53,000 working staffs and 250,000 retired staffs of enterprises in difficulty. In 2005, staff retired before the establishment of medical security program, retired staff from bankrupt enterprises and retired people governed by civil administration began to be covered by the medical security system, solving the medical-care issue for 30,000 people.

During the establishment of the medical security system, Tianjin has taken the advantage of public finance to ensure the security of the disadvantaged groups. The government not only provides subsidies to retired staffs from difficult enterprises, but also to the groups having difficulty participating in insurance, including senior unemployed people who are re-employed in positions of public service, unemployed people rejoining the work force, laid-off staffs, the disabled, single mothers and other groups.

As stipulated by Tianjin’s basic medical insurance policy for urban and rural residents, the government will offer full subsidies to severely disabled people, people from poverty-stricken families on subsistence allowance and people over 60 years old and from low-income families. Individuals don’t need to pay any fees. Students and children who have participated in insurance program will be further covered by accident injury insurance.

On January 1st, 2008, Tianjin’s Basic Medical Insurance System for Urban Residents began to take effect. Students, children, and unemployed residents from urban areas are covered by social medical cost pool for major diseases. So far, there are 623,000 people participating in this program and 31,000 people enjoying the refunding. The medical cost burden is effectively lifted from senior people, children and the disabled, who are not capable of working. This program is warmly welcome by Tianjin residents.

In 2009, the Tianjin Municipal Government launched Rules for the Implementation of Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance, which will be put into effect from January 1st, 2010. The city’s basic medical insurance will cover a population of approximately 5.55 million, who include urban residents, rural residents, rural students and children that Rules for the Implementation of Tianjin Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance Regulation does not provide coverage.