China achieves 95-percent health insurance coverage rate under 14th Five-Year Plan

China's basic medical insurance coverage rate has remained stable at approximately 95 percent of the population throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) announced on Thursday.

Zhang Ke, head of the administration, unveiled the data at a press conference in Beijing.

"During the 2021-2025 period, China's basic medical insurance has maintained a coverage rate of around 95 percent, with 1.327 billion people enrolled in 2024," Zhang said.

Authorities highlighted continuous improvements to the insurance system in the five-year period: The long-acting mechanism for acquiring basic medical insurance has been continuously improved and made complete, with medical aid subsidizing premiums for nearly 80 million individuals annually. Meanwhile, the proportion of insurance fund payment for hospitalization expenses by employees and residents within the catalogue of reimbursement has remained stable at around 80 percent and 70 percent respectively.

In the 2021-2025 period, the mutual aid guarantee mechanism for outpatient services under the employee medical insurance program and the consolidated insurance funds guarantee mechanism for general outpatient expenses have been fully established. The operation of pilot projects of the insurance system for long-term care has been further advanced, covering nearly 190 million people, according to the authorities.

Monitoring over the appropriation of medical insurance funds has been continuously strengthened over the past five years, with the establishment of a comprehensive fund supervision system. Meanwhile, measures such as pre-event education, in-event reminders, post-event supervision, and surprise inspections have been regularly and comprehensively advanced.

"By the end of 2024, the accumulated balance of the consolidated funds for medical insurance reached 3.86 trillion yuan (539.77 billion U.S. dollars). A total of 104.5 billion yuan of misused medical insurance funds has been recovered," Zhang said.

China achieves 95-percent health insurance coverage rate under 14th Five-Year Plan

All 1,248 players of the 48 teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been confirmed following the submission of final squad lists to FIFA, the world football governing body announced Tuesday.

Lionel Messi of Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico will feature in their sixth World Cup campaigns, while Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan are going to play their first World Cup.

The tournament opens on June 11 and 104 matches will be played in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with the final to be played on July 19.

"The confirmed squad lists underline the scale and enduring appeal of the tournament with 357 players returning after at least one previous FIFA World Cup squad inclusion. Some 891 players are set to experience the competition for the first time, highlighting both continuity and renewal across the global game," FIFA said.

Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon will be the oldest player at the tournament at 43 years and 162 days old, while Mexico's Gilberto Mora will be the youngest at 17 years and 240 days old. There will be 22 players under 20 years old and seven players aged 40 or above at the start of the tournament.

FIFA World Cup squads confirmed