NEW medical insurance covering all city children's medical costs for serious diseases has paid out 35.93 million yuan (US$4.70 million) since its launch in September, health officials said yesterday.
Before the cover was implemented, children in the city had recourse to just one form of financial support for medical expenses - the Shanghai Children's Hospitalization Mutual Aid Fund, which doesn't cover newborns younger than one month old and requires payment of an annual premium.
"In order to provide children with a more comprehensive financial support for their medical cost, the authorities established the new insurance system after the mutual fund ran for 10 years," said Xiong Fangjie, vice director of the Shanghai Red Cross, which supervises the mutual fund.
The insurance covers half of the medical expenses and the mutual fund is responsible for the rest after the family pays a maximum stipend of 300 yuan.
The mutual fund has a maximum of 100,000 yuan reimbursement a year while the insurance has no limit.
"The two systems relieve the burden on local families, which may suffer great difficulties due to medical costs," Xiong said.