Chinese protests over health insurance cuts highlight risks from ageing population
- Scores of retirees have taken to the streets of Wuhan over the past week to protest against cuts to medical services, according to footage on social media
- The rare protests underscore the challenge facing Beijing as it comes to terms with a shrinking population and the sustainability of its social security system
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Chinese retirees hold rare protest over cuts in healthcare insurance
Like many other residents in central China’s Wuhan city, Liu Meixiang was shocked when she found out her monthly healthcare payment had been cut by nearly two thirds earlier in February.
Usually the 66 year old receives 230 yuan (US$33) per month for her outpatient expenses, but when she checked her balance this month she had been paid just 83 yuan.
“It is a big loss especially to old people who suffer from chronic illness like me,” she said. “I feel our benefits are worsening, although our country is becoming richer.”
Similar frustration has drawn hundreds of retirees onto the streets of Wuhan over the past week to protest against cuts to medical services, according to reports and footage posted to social media.
Following a protest last week, Wuhan authorities issued several statements explaining the cuts were part of a nationwide effort to channel funds from individual medical insurance accounts to a communal pool that would ultimately allow higher reimbursement of outpatient costs.
The rare protests, the most recent of which was on Wednesday, underscore the challenge facing Beijing as it comes to terms with an ageing population, shrinking workforce and the long-term financial health of its social security system.
