New measures will give basic medical insurance to over 90 per cent of the population this year. All rural residents will be able to enjoy a general preferential pension after turning 60. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security says it will focus on improving the insurance system in rural areas. Over 830 million rural residents have been covered by the new rural cooperative medicare system. The central government has also decided to increase the amount of reimbursement for medicare expenses. Developing a new endowment insurance system in rural areas is also underway. Hu Xiaoyi,Deputy Minister of Human Resources & social Security, said, “It has different funding methods. The old insurance system mainly relied on premiums from rural residents. But the new system has three funding channels, individual premiums, cooperative subsidies, and government subsidies. The subsidies will come from the central budget and go directly to rural residents.” Payments to residents comprise two parts. A basic pension and a pension to an individual account. The basic pension is covered by the state budget. Hu Xiaoyi said, “All rural residents in China will be able to enjoy a general preferential pension after turning 60. ” The new endowment insurance system will gradually expand to the whole country after trials in pilot areas. The first trials are expected to begin this fall.
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