BEIJING -- China has further reformed its health insurance program to allow more individuals to use their relatives' account balances to cover medical expenses.

Under a program that has been extended to all provincial regions in China as of Dec 9, eligible holders of employee health insurance can link their personal accounts to the health insurance of close relatives through online channels, enabling shared access to funds, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) announced on Thursday.

In recent years, China has continuously reformed its health insurance system, gradually allowing funds in employee personal accounts to be used by family members.

In 2021, the government expanded coverage to include spouses, parents and children. This year, in July, the scope was further allowed to be extended to include "close relatives" such as siblings, grandparents and grandchildren under the basic health insurance program.

According to data from the NHSA, between January and November 2024, around 325 million instances of shared use of employee health insurance personal accounts were recorded.

In terms of spending, 34.31 billion yuan (about $4.77 billion) was used for personal medical expenses at designated healthcare institutions, 2.07 billion yuan for expenses at designated retail pharmacies, and 7.48 billion yuan for various purposes including individual contributions to the residential basic health insurance program.

Currently, all provincial regions in China have implemented the sharing of employee health insurance personal accounts within their respective areas, with cross-provincial sharing still being rolled out.

The ability for close relatives to share personal accounts across provincial regions is expected to significantly reduce family healthcare costs, enhance resilience against medical risks, and allow family members in different provinces to efficiently manage and allocate funds for medical needs.

"Cross-provincial sharing involves over 300 million employees and nearly 1 billion residents covered by health insurance, making it a large-scale reform," said Huang Huabo, deputy director of the NHSA. "This program is expected to be fully operational by 2025, ensuring more sustainable and accessible healthcare for all."