Wuxi to pilot China's medical insurance payment reform

Wuxi was chosen as the only pilot city in Jiangsu province to apply the diagnosis-related group system (DRG) of medical care by the nation.

DRG classifies patients by diagnosis, average length of hospital stay and therapy received. The classification is used to determine how much money healthcare providers will be given to cover future procedures and services.

"The reform of the medical insurance payment system is a major force in medical reform. It is essential to standardize the behavior of services, control the unreasonable growth of expenses, and give full play to the basic role of insurance in reform," said a person in charge from Jiangsu Provincial Medical Security Bureau.

Wuxi has been preparing for the DRG medical insurance payment reform since last year. A group of 67 experts was formed to analyze the data from 1,441,622 cases across 28 pilot hospitals over the past four years.

Wuxi, chosen as one of the 30 pilot cities nationwide, will be responsible for helping the nation formulate standards, improve policies and establish procedures for medical insurance payment reform.