On March 14, the General Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality released the Measures on Adjusting the Credit of Medical Insurance for Personal Accounts (hereinafter referred to as The Measures). Personal accounts shall not be used for public health expenses, sports and fitness or health care consumption, which are not covered by the basic medical insurance.

In The Measures, modification of the available credit in personal accounts is detailed. The personal account of on-the-job employees will be credited from the basic medical insurance paid by individuals, which accounts for 2% of the personal insurance contribution base. The basic medical insurance premium paid by employers will be credited to employees' medical insurance fund. The personal accounts of retirees will continue to be credited by the fund at a fixed rate, and the standards are listed as following:

• CNY 100 per month for those who are under the age of 70;

• CNY 110 per month for those who are 70 years old or above.

If adjustments are needed for the above standards, the changes must be proposed by Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau and Beijing Municipal Finance Bureau after research. The implementation of the adjustment shall be subject to the approval of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.

The Measures emphasizes the regulation of personal account usage, more specifically the improvement of personal management methods and  the establishment of mechanisms for such personal account usage, the strengthening of efficiency in utilizing the medical insurance fund, assets,  settlements, and account reviews.

It is clarified in The Measures that the personal accounts mainly cover :

• the expenses paid by the insurance participants within the scope of designated medical institutions or retail drugstores;

• the medical expenses in the designated medical institutions and the expenses of purchasing medicine, medical instruments and consumables for the insured, their spouses, parents and children;

• the expenses of purchasing commercial health insurance products in Beijing which are connected with the basic medical insurance.

Outpatient medical service fees of the on-the-job insurance participants, initial payment standards ( deductibles ), payment ration and payment cap of the medical insurance, aid for the chronic and specific diseases that require long-term outpatient treatment, aid for medication from designated retail pharmacies, medical insurance payment for online medical services and other policies are implemented in accordance with the provisions of basic medical insurance.

It is stated in The Measures that the payment mechanism that is compatible with the 'mutual-aid' process for covering outpatient bills should be improved. The supervision and management of the medical insurance fund should be strengthened. Meanwhile, security and control measures of the medical insurance should be established, the supervision and regulation of medical treatment and expenses should be strengthened, and designated medical institutions should be set in place to provide standardized diagnosis and treatment services. Illegal activities including "fake" and induced hospitalization will be investigated and penalized.

(Source: Beijing Youth Daily)