China's Innovative Approach to Universal Health Coverage

China has successfully implemented various medical insurance reforms and development tasks under five principles including promoting equity and accessibility, the rule of law, technological empowerment, coordinated development and safeguarding the security of the fund during the first four years of the 14th Five-Year Plan (the 2021-2025 period).

- Narayan Kulkarni

The authorities nationwide have spent about 72.3 billion yuan (about $10.1 billion) to assist people from disadvantaged groups, providing support for 350 million instances of insurance coverage. China's basic medical insurance has maintained a coverage rate of around 95 per cent, with over 1.32 billion people enrolled in 2024. Medical assistance schemes cover approximately 80 million people in China each year, helping to ensure that they can benefit from the insurance programme.

From 2021 to 2024, nearly 20 billion medical visits received medical insurance reimbursement, a 1.6-fold increase from 2020. As of June 2025, 253 million people had participated in maternity insurance, with cumulative fund expenditures of 438.3 billion yuan and 96.1432 million benefits received. China has also optimised the "one-stop birth" process, allowing newborns to enroll in insurance with just a birth certificate. Thirty-one provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have included assisted reproductive services in medical insurance reimbursement. Nearly 60 per cent of coordinated regions nationwide provide direct maternity benefits to insured female employees.