China boosts medical insurance spending on innovative drugs

BEIJING -- During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China's medical insurance spending on drugs newly included in the negotiations list, or the innovative drugs, grew significantly, increasing by 40 percent annually, an official from the National Healthcare Security Administration said on Thursday.

In 2024, related spending reached 3.9 times the amount recorded in 2020, Zhang Ke, head of the administration, told a press conference.

During this period, medical insurance fund expenditures totaled 12.13 trillion yuan (about $1.7 trillion), growing at an average annual rate of 9.1 percent, Zhang said.