BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese lawmakers are considering a provision in the draft healthcare security law to clarify that the country will improve the maternity insurance system and expand its coverage.
The draft is set for the second deliberation at a session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee from April 27 to 30, Shi Chunfeng, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told a press conference on Friday.
The draft specifies that the maternity insurance fund and the basic medical insurance fund for employees should be merged into a single accounting system, Shi said.
The draft also stipulates that efforts should be made to coordinate local governments to establish a risk control mechanism for the basic medical insurance fund, and develop a medium-to-long-term revenue-expenditure balance mechanism as well as an emergency response mechanism.
The draft healthcare security law was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for its first review in June last year. It stipulates the system framework and basic institutions for healthcare security.
The 2010 Social Insurance Law and the 2014 interim measures for social assistance contain provisions on basic medical insurance, maternity insurance and medical assistance. But lawmakers say a healthcare security law is needed to keep up with the healthcare security system reform and tackle problems such as fragmented rules.
According to Shi, lawmakers will also deliberate on other draft laws, including a draft law on social assistance, a draft law on farmland protection and quality improvement, and draft revisions to the Prison Law.
The draft social assistance law encourages and supports voluntary assistance efforts from society, while the draft law on farmland protection and quality improvement calls for greater application of modern information technology, Shi said.
The draft revisions to the Prison Law further strengthen the supervision of people’s procuratorates over the enforcement of criminal penalties in prisons, Shi added. ■
