SHENZHEN has officially launched a “one-stop” settlement service for medical insurance and medical expense assistance in a bid to alleviate the pressure on people having difficulty paying medical expenses in advance, according to the Shenzhen Economic Daily.

Confirmed by the city’s civil affairs department, the target of the service includes needy people who have Shenzhen hukou and are covered by the city’s basic medical insurance, orphans, recipients of the minimum subsistence allowance and low-income families.

Apart from the settlement of basic medical insurance, local supplementary medical insurance and medical insurance for major diseases, recipients of the service can receive medical assistance within the scope of the medical insurance policy after they are given outpatient or inpatient treatment at designated medical institutions in the city.

The assistance for people in special financial difficulty and orphans covers the full amount of the expenses to be paid by individuals outside of the medical insurance. For recipients of minimum subsistence allowance and low-income families, it covers 80 percent.

A maximum of 150,000 yuan (US$21,772) in medical assistance can be granted to an individual in a medical insurance year.

According to the Daily, as of July 7, 61 designated medical institutions in the city had offered such a service, benefiting 394 people. A total of 422,000 yuan in medical expenses was reimbursed, including 340,000 yuan of medical insurance and 61,000 yuan of medical assistance.(Zhang Yu)