The direct settlement for trans-provincial medical expenses has been made possible in Shanghai's major 2A-grade and 3A-grade hospitals, Jiangsu and Zhejiang's cities and districts, and four cities in Anhui province.

The reform was announced at a conference on promoting direct payments for outpatient costs of non-local medical treatment in the Yangtze River Delta region, held in Wuxi on June 12.

Since September 2018, the healthcare security administrations of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang and Shanghai have ramped up efforts to boost bidirectional direct settlement of cross-provincial hospitalization expenses, giving priority to the incorporation of non-local retirees, permanent residents and workers, as well as patients transferred to remote hospitals.

In addition, the administrations will focus on the job characteristics and medical treatment demands of out-going and migrant workers and non-local entrepreneurs to guarantee they benefit from the direct settlement of remote hospitalization expenses.

Chen Xingying, vice-governor of Jiangsu province, noted that the direct settlement system of trans-provincial medical expenses marks a significant achievement in integrating public services in the Yangtze River Delta region and serves as a crucial support mechanism in advancing the region's industrial and market integration.

Jiangsu will continue efforts to expand the system coverage to county-level hospitals and deepen cooperation with Zhejiang and Anhui province. It will enhance policy cohesion and coordination with other Yangtze River Delta provinces and cities in terms of hierarchical medical treatment systems, sound referral systems and cross-provincial fund monitoring.

According to Jiangsu provincial healthcare security administration, the province had 849 medical institutions that offered direct settlement of remote hospitalization expenses by the end of May.

In the first five months of this year, the number of Jiangsu – Shanghai remote settlements amounted to 18,600, involving costs of 5.98 million yuan ($863,972), while the number of Shanghai – Jiangsu remote settlements came to 25,900, with expenses totaling 4.08 million yuan. The visits and expenses of non-local settlements witnessed soaring development.

To date, 29 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have been included into the system, which currently covers over 1,200 medical institutes across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shanghai.

Wuxi, a new addition to the system, has striven to propel the direct settlement of trans-provincial medical expenses in recent years, with 81 hospitals in the city joining the system. It will further efforts to include more medical institutions into the unified settlement system, enhance settlement management and bring benefits to locals.