BEIJING, Jan. 17 -- China's medical insurance fund last year achieved a balanced budget, with a slight surplus, ensuring the safety and sustainability of the fund, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA).

A total of 6.7 billion outpatient settlements were covered by basic medical insurance in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 19 percent, the NHSA told a press conference on Friday.

Maternity insurance fund expenditure amounted to 143.2 billion yuan (19.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 -- a 33.9-percent increase from the previous year, the NHSA revealed.

In 2024, the national medical insurance system recovered 27.5 billion yuan in funds, identified 2,008 fraudulent insurance institutions, and worked with public security authorities to investigate 3,018 medical insurance fraud cases, leading to the arrest of 10,741 suspects.

Gu Rong, an official with the NHSA, said that part of the recovered funds were retrieved through big data monitoring technology.

According to the NHSA, the administration is actively promoting the use of drug traceability codes, which allow relevant departments to quickly and accurately detect fraud involving the misuse of drugs to exploit the insurance system.