China has expanded its rare disease catalog to 207 conditions after including nearly 100 rare disease drugs in its medical insurance scheme, covering 42 types of rare diseases, according to information released at the 2025 China Conference on Rare Diseases, which concluded on Sunday. Due to their low incidence, small patient populations, and high research and development costs, rare diseases have received limited attention in the healthcare field. Through coordinated inter-agency efforts, China has accelerated the development of a system for the prevention and treatment of such diseases, making drugs more accessible and affordable for the patients.
In 2024, China's medical insurance fund allocated 8.6 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) to include rare disease drugs in its coverage, accounting for about 7.7 percent of total payments.
On average, medical insurance reduces the financial burden for each rare disease patient by approximately 5,500 yuan (about 773.32 U.S. dollars).
At the same time, a "dual-channel" supply mechanism for rare disease drugs has been implemented in hospitals and pharmacies, and rare diseases have been included in the coverage for the category of outpatient chronic special diseases.
"We recognize that accessing rare disease drugs in hospitals can be challenging due to the relatively small patient population. Therefore, on one hand, we are promoting the inclusion of drugs from the catalog into hospitals. On the other hand, we have also established a dual-channel supply mechanism, allowing patients to purchase rare disease drugs at pharmacies and receive the same reimbursement policies as those for prescriptions issued by hospitals. At the same time, for medical healthcare insurance fund, given that many rare diseases require long-term medication and hospitalization isn't feasible each time, we are steadily enhancing the reimbursement levels for outpatient chronic special diseases based on the existing coverage for major illnesses. The reimbursement rates for these outpatient treatments will often align with those for inpatient care," said Huang Xinyu, an official of the National Healthcare Security Administration.
China expands medical insurance coverage against rare diseases
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo arrived in Beijing on Sunday to pay an official visit to China from Jan. 25 to 28, at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with the Finnish prime minister, while Chinese Premier Li and Chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with Orpo, respectively, to conduct in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.
Finland was among the first Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and was the first European country to sign an inter-governmental trade agreement with China. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state in recent years, the future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership between the two countries has been deepened, and cooperation in various fields has been steadily advanced.
In 2025, bilateral trade between China and Finland exceeded 8 billion U.S. dollars in value, while mutual investment stock surpassed 23 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting sustained enthusiasm of enterprises from both sides for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation.
During Orpo's visit, China's Ministry of Commerce will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Finnish side on strengthening the work of the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, and enterprises from both sides will sign a number of business cooperation agreements, said a spokesperson for the ministry.
Orpo will be accompanied by executives from more than 20 Finnish companies spanning machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy, food and other key sectors, according to the spokesperson.
China attaches great importance to the development of China-Finland relations, and stands ready to work with Finland to maintain close high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, foster mutual understanding and collaboration in multilateral affairs, and jointly elevate bilateral relations to a new height, said a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finnish PM arrives in Beijing for 4-day visit to China
