China has further reformed its health insurance program to allow more individuals to use their relatives' account balances to cover medical expenses.

中国进一步改革其医保计划，允许更多人使用亲属的医保账户余额支付医疗费用。

Under a program that has been extended to all provincial regions in China as of Dec. 9, eligible holders of employee health insurance can link their personal accounts to the health insurance of close relatives through online channels, enabling shared access to funds, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) announced on Thursday.

国家医疗保障局周四宣布，截至12月9日，中国已将一项计划扩展到所有省级地区，符合条件的职工医保参保人可以通过线上渠道将个人账户与直系亲属的医保账户关联，实现资金共享。

In recent years, China has continuously reformed its health insurance system, gradually allowing funds in employee personal accounts to be used by family members.

近年来，中国持续推进医保制度改革，逐步允许职工医保个人账户资金由家庭成员使用。

In 2021, the government expanded coverage to include spouses, parents and children. This year, in July, the scope was further allowed to be extended to include "close relatives" such as siblings, grandparents and grandchildren under the basic health insurance program.

2021年，政策覆盖范围扩大到配偶、父母和子女。今年7月，基本医疗保险制度进一步将范围扩大到包括兄弟姐妹、祖父母和孙子女在内的“直系亲属”。

According to data from the NHSA, between January and November 2024, around 325 million instances of shared use of employee health insurance personal accounts were recorded.

根据国家医疗保障局的数据，2024年1月至11月期间，职工医保个人账户共享使用记录约有3.25亿次。

In terms of spending, 34.31 billion yuan (about 4.77 billion U.S. dollars) was used for personal medical expenses at designated healthcare institutions, 2.07 billion yuan for expenses at designated retail pharmacies, and 7.48 billion yuan for various purposes including individual contributions to the residential basic health insurance program.

在支出方面，343.1亿元人民币（约合47.7亿美元）用于定点医疗机构的个人医疗费用，20.7亿元人民币用于定点零售药店的费用，74.8亿元人民币用于包括缴纳城乡居民基本医疗保险个人缴费在内的多种用途。

Currently, all provincial regions in China have implemented the sharing of employee health insurance personal accounts within their respective areas, with cross-provincial sharing still being rolled out.

目前，中国所有省级地区都已在本地区内实施了职工医保个人账户共享，跨省共享仍在逐步推广中。直系亲属跨省共享个人账户有望显著降低家庭医疗成本，增强抵御医疗风险的能力，并使不同省份的家庭成员能够高效管理和分配医疗资金。

The ability for close relatives to share personal accounts across provincial regions is expected to significantly reduce family healthcare costs, enhance resilience against medical risks, and allow family members in different provinces to efficiently manage and allocate funds for medical needs.

"Cross-provincial sharing involves over 300 million employees and nearly 1 billion residents covered by health insurance, making it a large-scale reform," said Huang Huabo, deputy director of the NHSA. "This program is expected to be fully operational by 2025, ensuring more sustainable and accessible healthcare for all."

“跨省共享涉及超过3亿名职工和近10亿名医保参保居民，是一项大规模改革。”国家医疗保障局副局长黄华波表示，“该计划预计将在2025年全面运行，确保为所有人提供更可持续和更便捷的医疗服务。”