Medical insurance covering all urban residents will be launched on a trial basis in some cities this year, according to Vice-Premier Wu Yi. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the first meeting of the joint conference established to oversee the program.

The insurance, designed to cover city residents with no work unit for medical coverage, is part of the ambitious plan to establish national medical insurance.All those who work in State-owned or other enterprises are already covered by the medical insurance fund contributed to jointly by the State, enterprises and workers.

Cooperative medical insurance covers many rural villagers. But students, self-employed urbanites and the unemployed have no medical coverage unless they buy commercial medical insurance on their own.

Those without medical insurance may be left bankrupt or without medical care if faced with serious medical problems.

The new insurance coverage will be paid for by local governments, the central government and the individuals covered. In principle, it will cover major medical bills for all urban residents buying coverage.

In fact, quite a number of cities have already launched insurance programs on a trial basis. Different models are being tried to give adequate medical coverage to city dwellers.

Good intentions are not enough. Universal healthcare is a complicated process with competing models. Whatever approach is used demands detailed design to extend maximum benefits within an affordable system.

That is why the central authorities have repeatedly emphasized that medical insurance coverage be extended gradually on a trial basis and that experience from different localities be analyzed for national policies.

The much desired benefit of national medical coverage has at last been embarked on. Unfortunately, there can be no shortcuts.

(China Daily May 17, 2007)