Guangzhou Launches Pilot Program for Mobile-Based Medical Insurance Payments Starting August 1

Yesterday, the Guangzhou Municipal Healthcare Security Administration issued a statement announcing that insured employees participating in Guangzhou’s Employee Basic Medical Insurance Program who hold the new version of the Social Security (Citizen) Card (hereinafter referred to as the “Social Security Card”) may choose to use online payment from their individual medical insurance accounts to cover out-of-pocket expenses compliant with medical insurance regulations when seeking care at pilot designated medical institutions.

According to the Guangzhou Municipal Healthcare Security Administration, to use this feature, individuals must download the mobile application of the corresponding pilot designated medical institutions and complete payments through the app. The scope of payment covers expenses incurred by the insured individual at these pilot designated medical institutions that are to be borne personally, including medical services, vaccinations, health check-ups, and medications, provided such expenses comply with national, provincial, and municipal regulations. Users must also ensure that their personal healthcare security accounts have sufficient funds.

Currently, social security cards with activated medical insurance personal accounts issued by nine banks, including the Agricultural Bank of China, support this feature. The first batch of designated medical institutions included in the pilot program consists of three entities: Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center (including Guangzhou Children's Hospital and Guangzhou Maternity and Infant Health Hospital).

For example, after a citizen visits one of the aforementioned designated medical institutions for symptoms such as cold and cough, they can use a mobile app to pay the out-of-pocket portion of the medical expenses not covered by medical insurance reimbursement. If a citizen undergoes self-paid medical services, such as dental cleaning, at these designated institutions, they may also use the mobile app for payment, provided there are sufficient funds in their personal medical insurance account.

In addition, the Guangzhou Municipal Healthcare Security Administration stated that the launch of this feature enables insured individuals to complete online payments for both medical insurance-covered and out-of-pocket expenses with a single click. This will effectively alleviate long queues for payment at healthcare facilities and further optimize the medical experience for insured individuals. Moving forward, the scope of pilot designated medical institutions is expected to gradually expand. Insured individuals are encouraged to follow the “Guangzhou Medical Insurance” WeChat official account or visit the Guangzhou Medical Insurance Management Website to learn more about available medical insurance services.

Step 1: Visit any branch of the bank that issued your social security card within the city to register the cardholder’s mobile phone number (this step is unnecessary if already completed). The logo of the issuing bank is located in the upper left corner of the back of the social security card (above the personal photo).

Step 2: Link your social security card via the mobile app or POS terminal provided by designated medical institutions.

Step 3: Make online payments for medical expenses via the mobile app.

This article is reprinted from Information Times by VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat).