Students must pay health insurance
The education department has announced that university students can no longer have subsidised health care. They must join the social health insurance scheme to pay for their medical expenses.
This policy aims to improve the quality of medical services for students. They currently pay only 20 per cent of the bill if they see a doctor at a campus clinic. But if they go to other hospitals, they can only claim 80 per cent of the bill if it is less than 200 yuan (HK$227).
Campus clinics can only treat minor illnesses and it is common for campus doctors to refer students to general hospitals. The expense at general hospitals is often more then 200 yuan, so students must pay the expenses in full.
With the new public medical insurance, students can claim any amount of expenses spent in hospitals. However, they will need to pay a certain amount of money every month for the insurance.
There are different opinions about the new policy. 'The public medical insurance will add to students' economic burden, so I hope the expense is not high. The government should add more transparency about how the money will be spent.' said Tan Huazhu, a foreign studies student at Guangdong University.
Classmate Xie Jianming said she was always in a good health and seldom went to hospital or the campus clinic. Investing in the public medical insurance seems unnecessary for her, she added.
Jia Jiawen, a student at Sun Yat-sen University, believes public health insurance is good for students.
'The current medical service is not of much use to students since the covered amount is so low and limited. The social health insurance is more suitable for students.'
The amount of money that students will have to pay for insurance has not been revealed. The official announcement will surely raise another round of heated discussion.
