BEIJING: More than 90 percent of village clinics in China have their services covered by basic medical insurance, a senior health official said on Sunday.

Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, announced the figure at a press conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of China’s national legislature.

There are more than 600,000 grassroots healthcare institutions in towns, communities and villages nationwide, with over 5 million health workers in service, Lei said.

Over the past two years, the Ministry of Finance has spent approximately 900 million yuan (around $128.6 million) to help township-level health centres in central and western regions upgrade their medical equipment, according to Lei.

Looking forward, Lei said China will step up efforts to improve grassroots public medical services.

By 2027, the medical resources and services of the county, townships and villages within the jurisdiction of a county will be integrated to bring more quality medical services closer to people’s doorsteps, according to Lei.

Artificial intelligence will also be employed to boost the capacity of grassroots medical services, said the official.

The government also plans to spend more on medical and health services in 2025, according to Lei.

The per capita government subsidy for basic public health services is expected to increase by 5 yuan this year, reaching 99 yuan per person, said the official, citing the government work report, which is being deliberated by national lawmakers.

The adjustment will translate into further optimised public medical services, Lei noted.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2025