With the advancement of the times, the elderly population continues to increase, and their medical problems have also aroused the attention of all walks of life. The topic of whether people over 60 years old need to be exempted or even exempted from medical expenses has sparked widespread discussion.
In this context, the decision of Jinchang City in Gansu Province on October 22, 2020, to announce a partial waiver of outpatient examination fees for seniors aged 60 and over clearly fueled the discussion.
However, in response to the proposal of Hu Mei'e, a deputy to the National People's Congress, on "medical exemption or full exemption for the elderly over 60 years old", the National Health Insurance Administration said that under the current situation in the mainland, there is still no sufficient basis for the implementation of complete exemption or large-scale reduction of medical expenses for the elderly aged 60 and above.
According to the National Health Security Administration, the implementation of a free medical policy may not only limit the coverage of basic medical services, but also reduce the quality of services, and may also lead to unnecessary waste of medical resources.
But that doesn't mean we're ignoring the needs and rights of older people. In fact, under the current health care system, which is provided to all, we have provided a considerable degree of protection to everyone, including the elderly.
At present, the mainland has successfully carried out universal medical insurance, and the participation rate is stable at more than 95%. The reimbursement ratio of hospitalization expenses within the scope of employee medical insurance and resident medical insurance policies has reached about 80% and 70% respectively, and the maximum payment limit of the pooled fund has reached about 6 times the average annual salary of local employees and the disposable income of residents.
Such a fair and inclusive health care system has basically met the needs of most people.
However, for special groups, such as the elderly, is it necessary to provide further preferential medical security? Before answering this question, we need to think about whether the mainland's medical insurance system has given preferential treatment and care to the elderly.
At present, in the current stage of construction and improvement of the medical insurance system, preferential treatment and care have been implemented for the elderly group:
For those employees who have reached the retirement age stipulated by the state and the number of years of insurance premiums meet the minimum requirements, they will be given the right to be exempted from paying basic medical insurance premiums, and special consideration and preference will be given to the method of crediting the amount of personal accounts and the proportion of medical expenses they bear.
However, some people will question whether the implementation of free medical care can solve the problem of medical insurance for the elderly once and for all.
History tells us that the answer is no. Before the establishment of the mainland's basic medical insurance system, the mainland's medical security system mainly relied on labor insurance and publicly-funded medical care for employees, and all medical expenses were contracted by the state and enterprises.
Therefore, if free medical care is introduced again, instead of providing lasting protection, it may lead to new problems, such as reducing the scope of basic medical services, reducing the level of treatment, and even bringing unnecessary medical waste.
After an in-depth analysis, it is not difficult to see that the benefits of free medical care for the elderly do not outweigh the disadvantages. Instead, we should reform and optimize within the existing health care framework.
The National Health Insurance Administration has also made it clear that in the next step, we will start by improving the system and improving the mechanism, and further promote the reform of key areas such as treatment security and financing operation in accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Reform of the Medical Security System".
We will strive to enhance the sense of gain, happiness and security of the people, including the elderly. And all of this needs to be done together.
In general, in the face of the problem of medical insurance for the elderly, we need to get rid of the simple thinking of doing everything or not making any effort, and should analyze the possible consequences of various policies more rationally, and then find an institutional arrangement that is truly suitable for the national conditions of the mainland and can provide maximum medical security for the 1.4 billion people.
In this process, we want to hear the voices of everyone, whether they come from government agencies, medical institutions, or the general public. Only then will we be able to find a viable, fair, and effective way to solve the problems we face. Let's think, discuss, and act on the issue of medical fee waivers for the elderly.