Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    IN its second year of operation, Shenzhen’s emergency medical relief fund assisted more than 1,000 patients by covering 13 million yuan (US$1.88 million) in medical costs, according to the city’s health commission.

    Shenzhen set up the emergency medical relief fund Jan. 1, 2015, to help people who are seriously ill but can’t afford treatment. In 2015, the fund spent 11.5 million yuan to assist 1,937 patients.

    Those who become critically ill or are injured in Shenzhen, even if they don’t have a permanent residence permit or medical insurance, can apply to receive help paying for medical care. The sick or injured are eligible for assistance but only the medical service providers who treated the patients are entitled to help the patients apply for the fund, according to the health commission.

    One of the beneficiaries, a 28-year-old man, received the highest subsidy amount of 506,000 yuan after being treated for fractures and an intestinal perforation at Luohu People’s Hospital.

    The smallest subsidy was applied by a private hospital, Wanfeng Hospital, to cover a 90.44-yuan payment for an unidentified patient.

    Mainly subsidized by the city government, the fund also accepts donations.