Designation for clinics may ease reimbursement process

Authorities are working to make sure all village residents in the nation will be able to instantly settle their medical insurance bills by designating at least one clinic in every village as an institution affiliated with the national medical insurance system before the end of this year, according to a notice published on July 31.

Such a designation will make it easier for villagers to be reimbursed for their medical expenses, as they often have to go to township-level institutions if they want to get their expenses covered.

The notice, jointly issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration and the National Health Commission, follows a resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which stated that China will do more to ensure such resources are channeled toward the grassroots level.

Clinics in villages are the first stop for rural residents seeking medical treatment and are also the last hurdle that needs to be cleared to increase the availability of quality medical resources, the notice said.

According to the notice, medical insurance-related departments should further simplify the application requirements, optimize the application process and provide necessary guidelines and consultation services to help village clinics apply to become medical insurance system affiliates.

Meanwhile, efforts are urged to tighten oversight over medical insurance funds once more medical institutions are included, it said.

Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei to share business credit information

Market regulators in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province have jointly issued a work plan to promote the cross-regional sharing of business credit information for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in terms of business supervision.

According to the plan released on July 31, 26 categories of business credit information will be made available for cross-regional sharing among the three areas. Shared information will include registration information, licenses, serious violations of laws and regulations, blacklisting and annual reports.

With the establishment of a data center and three branches, the information will be uploaded and shared among the regions through dedicated channels, the plan said.

The State Administration for Market Regulation, China's top market regulator, will supervise the three local market regulators' business credit information sharing and caution against possible risks while providing necessary support, it said.

Guideline looks to boost consumer services

China will work to further develop consumer services to support high-quality economic development and meet people's demand for personalized, diversified and quality services, according to a guideline made public Saturday.

The guideline, issued by the State Council, set out 20 key tasks, including tapping the potential of consumption in sectors such as hospitality, domestic services, elderly care, child care, entertainment, tourism, sports, education and training.

It also pledged to foster new types of consumption such as digital, green and health services, create new consumption scenarios, relax market access, strengthen regulation and provide more policy support for service consumption.

China will continue to open up sectors such as telecommunications, education, elderly care and medical care, and ensure the implementation of opening-up measures in areas such as technology services and tourism, according to the document.