China's basic medical insurance fund balance surpasses US$600 bn

China's basic medical insurance fund recorded an accumulated balance of 4.25 trillion yuan (US$610.15 billion) at the end of 2022, statistics from the National Health care Security Administration showed Thursday.

The income and expenditure of the fund hit nearly 3.07 trillion yuan and 2.44 trillion yuan, respectively, in 2022, according to the administration.

More than 1.34 billion people, accounting for over 95 percent of the Chinese population, had been enrolled in the country's basic medical insurance, the administration said.

Last year, the fund paid 4.3 billion yuan for nucleic acid testing, and from 2021 to 2022, the fund and government subsidies settled a bill of more than 150 billion yuan for COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinations.

As of the end of 2022, the number of designated medical institutions where a direct settlement of cross-provincial hospitalization expenses is available had grown to 63,000. According to the administration, the same service for outpatient costs had been provided at 89,000 designated facilities nationwide.

Now at least one designated institution that offers direct settlement of cross-provincial medical expenses, including outpatient expenses, can be found in every Chinese county.