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STARTING Sept. 1, about 750,000 Shenzhen children will have their hospitalization costs covered by a government-run insurance scheme, the municipal government said at a press conference yesterday (June 18).
Each child will receive up to 200,000 yuan (US$25,974) in insurance cover to pay for treatment in case of a major disease, according to the long-anticipated social insurance scheme for children.
The premium amount for each child has been fixed at 12.5 yuan per month and the city government will subsidize half of the premium, the highest proportion in the nation. The program is expected to cost the city 50 million yuan annually.
The insurance applies to all children under 18 holding Shenzhen hukou (resident certificate) and those migrant children studying in Shenzhen who have at least one parent covered by the citys medical insurance scheme for adults for one year or more.
The insurance scheme is expected to cover about 80 percent of a childs medical fees on average. When treatment fees surpass 10,000 yuan, the insurance will cover 90 percent of the amount. There is, however, a maximum coverage amount of 200,000 yuan annually.
Also, the insurance will not cover treatment costs under 300 yuan, according to the scheme.
Yuan Jianyong, director general of the social security fund management bureau, said the scheme will cover 750,000 children by the end of the year.
Yuan said the bureau is considering letting parents pay their childrens outpatient treatment costs from their own insurance accounts.
Mayor Xu Zongheng promised in his government work report earlier this year that the city will launch a medical insurance scheme for children by the end of the year.
Editor: Wing
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