Health insurance gets State Council approval

The central government decided in an executive meeting of the State Council on Wednesday that it is going to promote an insurance program to cover most of the medical costs of severe diseases for unemployed and rural people nationwide.

The meeting, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, decided that the government should work with commercial health insurers, which will coordinate with basic insurance programs provided by the government, so that people can have more of their medical costs reimbursed.

Six ministerial-level departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the former ministry of health, issued a circular in August 2012 asking provinces to complement the government's insurance programs for unemployed people and rural residents.