CRI听力:Medical Cost Reimbursement to be Easier for Migrant Workers

The Ministry of Health says the national database will provide migrant workers with the possibility of getting medical costs reimbursed in the city where they work.

Yang Qing, division chief with the Ministry of Health explains.

"The national database will connect with provincial-level platforms so that migrant workers' insurance information can been shared nationwide, regardless of the hospital they attend. And this will be much more convenient for getting reimbursement."

According to the Ministry of Health, the national database will first open on a trial basis in Henan province in eastern central China and Hainan Island in south China.

But why these two places? Zhu Hongming, department head with the Ministry of Health explains.

"Choosing Henan province as the trial area is due to the large number of local people that have gone outside the province as migrant workers. And the demand for medical coverage is comparatively high. Additionally, the reason for the trial operation in Hainan is because its provincial-level insurance platform is more developed, especially in terms of technology."

Most migrant workers are currently covered by the rural cooperative medical insurance system in their hometown. At about 70 percent of the hospitals in their province, they can have their medical costs reimbursed immediately. However, for migrant workers in other provinces outside their hometown, it's very hard for them to get reimbursed.

So far, about 600,000 hospitals are included in the rural cooperative medical insurance system. The establishment of a national database will also deter fraud in medical reimbursement cases.

Zhu Hongming, department head with the Ministry of Health adds that the national database will be better for inter-province reimbursement cases, as there has been fraud in the past. For example, some people use fake prescriptions and invoices to receive reimbursement. Another added benefit is that this new database will strengthen inspections in hospitals.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.