China Life Launches Innovative Grassroots Medical Insurance Service in Suzhou to Protect Rural Doctors
On December 8, the launch ceremony for China Life’s National Grassroots Medical Insurance Innovation Services was held at Suzhou China Life · Yajing. At the event, a grassroots medical insurance product tailored for rural doctors across China was unveiled, providing comprehensive accidental injury coverage to grassroots healthcare workers. This initiative marks the first of its kind nationwide, filling a gap in China’s insurance sector for grassroots medical security and safeguarding the work of primary care physicians in delivering healthcare services. In the initial phase, 10,000 grassroots healthcare workers from across the country will receive this specialized insurance coverage free of charge.
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made major decisions and deployments to implement the Healthy China Strategy, emphasizing adherence to prevention first, advocating healthy and civilized lifestyles, and preventing and controlling major diseases. Primary healthcare institutions are the top priority in “implementing the principle of prevention first and advancing the Healthy China Initiative.”
Ge Yanfeng, Director of the Department of Social Development Research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, stated in his keynote address that this year marks the tenth anniversary of China’s national healthcare reform, which has achieved notable results in many areas. The next phase of key work will be driven by a “dual-wheel” strategy: first, improving policies to further deepen reforms of the healthcare system, reform and enhance the medical insurance system, steadily raise coverage levels, promote equity across systems, and improve the macro-level performance of medical security; second, developing industries by vigorously expanding the broader health industry and establishing a multi-tiered medical security system with basic medical insurance as the foundation and commercial health insurance as a supplement.
“Guided by the principle of prioritizing public health, we are currently undergoing a conceptual shift from addressing ‘medical demands’ to meeting ‘medical needs,’ with the paramount focus of primary healthcare being to prevent illness or reduce its incidence among the general population.” In his address at this event, Tan Weiliang, Director of the Suzhou Municipal Health Commission, shared insights drawn from years of healthcare reform practice. He emphasized that continuously enhancing the service capacity of primary healthcare and achieving a transition from a disease-centered approach to a health-centered one are crucial to realizing the grand strategy of “Healthy China.”
Village doctors are the “guardians” of health for rural residents. In 2018, the total number of primary healthcare workers in China reached 3.965 million, among whom more than 1.4 million were village doctors. They are distributed across 37,000 township health centers and 650,000 village clinics nationwide, providing basic public health services and essential medical care to 670 million rural residents in China. It is thanks to their presence that primary-level public health and medical services in China have been safeguarded.
Xie Qilin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, delivered a speech at the launch ceremony. He stated, “Village doctors and primary healthcare workers are a key force in rural medical care and public health services. We hope to mobilize societal resources to support these respected and dedicated grassroots physicians, enabling them to better safeguard the health of villagers and the general public.”
In response to the scarcity of medical resources and the inadequate level and capacity of healthcare services in impoverished and remote areas, the state has vigorously advanced targeted poverty alleviation through healthcare initiatives. It is determined to win the battle against poverty and committed to resolving the issue of people falling into or returning to poverty due to illness. Targeted poverty alleviation represents the essence and highlight of the Party and the state’s poverty reduction efforts in the new era, serving as a crucial guarantee for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realizing the great “Chinese Dream” of national rejuvenation.
Di Sen, Director of the Poverty Alleviation Office for Central and Western China at the China Primary Health Care Foundation, shared the office’s initiatives in targeted medical poverty alleviation at the press conference. He remarked with emotion that spending over 200 days a year living alongside doctors and residents in impoverished areas brought him great satisfaction, as this service provides effective support to grassroots physicians and health “gatekeepers” who work tirelessly in underdeveloped and remote regions.
China Life has actively responded to national policy calls, fulfilled its social responsibilities, and innovated its service models by integrating insurance protection into grassroots medical and health services. It provides comprehensive accidental injury insurance coverage and other value-added health services to primary care physicians in nationally designated poverty-stricken counties. By empowering these healthcare workers, China Life aims to prevent them from falling into or returning to poverty due to accidents, thereby safeguarding their delivery of medical and health services at the grassroots level.
It is reported that the initial phase of this service will provide specialized insurance coverage to 10,000 primary care physicians across China. The coverage includes accidental injury, accidental disability, accidental medical expenses, accidental allowances, and transportation-related incidents. The cumulative sum insured per individual amounts to RMB 1.2352 million, with the total coverage exceeding RMB 10 billion. Ran Zhengyuan, Deputy General Manager of China Life Insurance Company’s Jiangsu Branch, delivered remarks on behalf of China Life. He stated that China Life will continue to uphold its responsibilities as a central state-owned enterprise, remain committed to serving public welfare, and leverage Suzhou as an innovation hub for grassroots medical insurance services. The company plans to launch additional products to “safeguard” village doctors in 485 nationally designated poverty-stricken counties across 22 provinces, as well as primary care physicians and residents in key cities nationwide.
Primary healthcare security cannot be achieved without the support of “Internet + Healthcare” technical solutions and operational services. At the launch event, China Life Insurance and Gerui Technology signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly initiate innovative operational services for primary medical insurance across China, comprehensively empowering the effective delivery of primary healthcare security services.
The launch event has garnered attention and support from relevant entities, including the Suzhou Municipal Health Commission and the Civil Affairs Bureau, as well as media outlets. A donation ceremony for the “Guarding the Most Beautiful Grassroots Doctors” insurance service was also held on-site, during which specialized insurance policies for grassroots doctors were presented to ten representative grassroots physicians in Suzhou. Li Lijuan, a grassroots doctor, stated, “I frequently make house calls in rural areas, where minor accidents and bumps are inevitable. This insurance has alleviated our concerns, and we wholeheartedly welcome and support this initiative!”
Rural doctors provide basic medical and health “protection” for rural residents, while primary-level medical insurance services offer specialized insurance coverage “protection” for these doctors. With the official launch and nationwide rollout of innovative primary-level medical insurance services, this initiative is sure to benefit more grassroots physicians, injecting boundless momentum into the vigorous development of China’s primary healthcare sector.