Eligible employees can link their personal accounts to those of close relatives online, enabling shared access to funds. Credit: IHERPHOTO2/ Shutterstock

China is enabling eligible employees across the country to cover their healthcare expenditure utilising the account balances of their relatives.  

With this move, the country aims to lower family healthcare costs, bolster medical risk resilience, and facilitate efficient allocation of funds for medical needs. 

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The National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said that eligible employees can link their personal accounts to those of close relatives online, enabling shared access to funds. 

In 2021, the government expanded the health insurance programme to include immediate family members such as spouses, parents, and children.  

As of July 2024, the scope of the programme was broadened to add close relatives, including siblings, grandparents, as well as grandchildren. 

As per NHSA data, from January to November 2024, nearly 325 million instances of shared use of employee health insurance personal accounts were recorded.  

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The funds were utilised for various medical-related expenses, with about ¥34.31bn ($4.77bn) spent at healthcare institutions, ¥2.07bn at retail pharmacies, and ¥7.48bn for contributions to the residential basic health insurance programme. 

The sharing of employee health insurance personal accounts is now in place across all provincial regions within China, with the cross-provincial sharing feature still being introduced.  

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