Village projects and medical insurance on government agenda

A number of ministry-level departments, including those responsible for rural affairs, healthcare security, culture and civil aviation, have responded recently to matters of public concern.

Simpler village project approvals to cut costs

Project approvals will be simplified in small villages to improve efficiency, cut costs and accelerate implementation in order to build beautiful rural areas and realize the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, a guideline published on Sept 15 said.

The guideline, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said there are many such projects－usually related to villagers' living environment, rural water supply, village roads and cultural and sports facilities－but the scale of investment they require is usually quite small.

The approval process will be simplified for projects with relatively simple technical and construction requirements, it said, but not for relatively complicated projects involving large investments or house building and energy projects that affect people's lives and property.

Data sharing will help identify the uninsured

In an effort to expand health insurance coverage, information about people with basic medical insurance will, from next year, be shared nationwide, updated dynamically and be able to answer real-time inquiries, according to a guideline published on Sept 11.

The guideline, jointly issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration, called for efforts to ensure that basic medical insurance coverage rises steadily in the next four years and that public satisfaction with it continues to increase.

A mechanism that enables data sharing between healthcare departments at all levels and other departments in areas such as public security, civil affairs and human resources, should be further improved to precisely identify those not insured, it said.

The guideline also required the adoption of targeted insurance policies for different groups, including registered poverty-stricken households, students, newborn babies and those who temporarily stop making insurance payments.