China to pursue commercial health insurance to ease public strain, support drug innovation

Further increases were projected, driven by greater use of medical services and rising drug and treatment costs. However, the annual surplus of the basic medical insurance fund fell for two consecutive years to 470 billion yuan in 2024, the report said.

“It will become harder for the state to carry that burden through basic public insurance alone,” said Anthony W. D. Anastasi, assistant professor of economics at the Sino-British College, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

Official data showed that China’s mandatory basic medical insurance covered more than 95 per cent of the population. Yet individuals, particularly those in middle-income and high-income groups, were increasingly seeking treatments and services beyond what was available under the basic coverage, according to Song Lynn, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank.