Keep up your resident medical insurance (居民医保) at 400 CNY a year without a gap; households in hardship can get a reduction or waiver
- High value
- Evidence A
- Saves money
- Costs a little
- Takes minutes
- No willpower
In plain words
An individual pays from 400 CNY a year, and the government adds a subsidy of about 700 CNY per person. People in extreme hardship (特困人员) have the full amount paid for them, and dibao (低保, minimum living allowance) recipients get a fixed amount of help. A lapse has a cost: if you missed the annual enrollment period or did not pay continuously, then after you pay up there is a 3-month stretch in which your medical bills are not reimbursed, and as a rule each additional 1 year of lapse adds 1 more month.
Mentioned in
- Buy insurance only for losses you can't bear yourself, and cover losses you can bear with your emergency fund
- Apply for dibao (低保, minimum living allowance) if your income is below the local dibao line
- Don't panic about a gap in social insurance payments: pensions count cumulative years, and medical insurance can be made up under the rules
- Before a serious illness, add a one-year medical insurance or critical illness insurance policy on top of basic medical insurance, and look for the words “guaranteed renewable”
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 7, tip 9. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer