The National Healthcare Security Administration in China announced that over 100 million individuals have registered to use a digital code for the country's basic medical insurance plan.

According to a report from China Daily, this development comes approximately four years after the administration introduced a system to assign digital identification codes to residents enrolled in the basic medical insurance scheme.

By the end of the previous year, the number of people covered by this insurance program was approximately 135 million, according to data from the administration. The digital code, accessible via mobile phones, facilitates various medical-related activities. It can be used for tasks such as making hospital appointments, consulting doctors, undergoing medical tests and examinations, collecting reports, and obtaining medicines.

The integration of this digital system has seen widespread adoption, with over 800,000 public hospitals and pharmacies across China now connected to it. The implementation of digital codes has been particularly notable in Zhejiang and Qinghai provinces, where all insurers have activated their digital codes. Furthermore, in more than half of the provincial-level regions in China, at least 75% of insurers have activated their digital codes.

In a recent IB Asia Interview, Fitch Ratings APAC insurance senior director Terrence Wong discussed China’s insurance sector going into 2024 after its many challenges faced in the current year.

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