In recent days, a notice regarding the collection of medical insurance fees in Bajiao Village, Yueyang County, Hunan Province has been circulating online. According to the notice, for villagers who have not paid their health insurance fees, the village committee will not stamp official seals or handle related procedures for them. It even states that party members who have not paid their health insurance will be expelled from the party.
Prior to this, the Hunan provincial government had issued a notice setting mandatory targets for all levels of government departments, demanding that the province’s health insurance coverage rate be maintained at over 95%. The collection of insurance fees is also linked to the comprehensive evaluation system for officials at all levels.
On November 14th, a notice about the collection of health insurance fees in Bajiao Village, Maotian Town, Yueyang County, Hunan Province, was spread on the internet. According to the notice, in order to implement the directives of the higher party committee and government, and to satisfactorily complete the phased tasks assigned by the higher authorities, a decision was made by the village council and two committees of Bajiao Village regarding the collection of rural cooperative medical care fees for the year 2025. The resolutions include: 1. For those who have not paid their health insurance, the village office will not handle any official procedures or seals. 2. Those who have not paid their health insurance will not be considered for end-of-year financial assistance. 3. Party members who have not paid for their personal or family health insurance will be expelled from the party.
The notice was signed by the Village Committee of Bajiao Village, Maotian Town, and stamped with a red seal, dated November 14, 2024.
Journalists from Jumuhui News and Dawan News contacted Yueyang County, Maotian Town, and Bajiao Village, all of which denied the claims. A village cadre from Bajiao Village hesitantly mentioned, “They were dealing with the stamp at that time,” then later stated, “There’s no such thing,” before abruptly ending the call.
It is worth noting that when mainland Chinese media reposted this notice, they obscured the term “exit the party” in the third resolution. Among the many sensitive terms defined by the Chinese Communist Party, the term “exit the party” is considered the most “reactionary.” The authorities strongly suppress this term, as it is seen as covering up a wave of people quitting the party.
In fact, the grassroots government’s pursuit of medical insurance fees mentioned in the village committee notice is not unfounded.
The Epoch Times reporter found that in September of this year, the Hunan Provincial Health Security Bureau issued a notice requiring various government departments such as municipal and county health security bureaus, education (sports) bureaus, civil affairs bureaus, finance bureaus, agricultural and rural affairs bureaus, and county and district tax bureaus to carry out the collection of fees for residents’ basic health insurance coverage in 2025.
The notice specified a mandatory target, which is to maintain a basic medical insurance coverage rate of over 95% for the resident population, and demanded full payment of the fees.
Concerning the individual payment standards, the notice stated that based on the requirements of the CPC Health Insurance Bureau, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Administration of Taxation regarding health insurance work, the unified individual payment standard for residents’ health insurance in Hunan Province in 2025 is set at 400 yuan per person.
The authorities also required various departments to handle the collection of health insurance fees according to the principles of government leadership, tax collection, and town (street) oversight, while establishing a “comprehensive evaluation system for participation in insurance work.”
In a notice issued by the Yueyang County Health Insurance Bureau on October 8th titled “Notice on Doing Well in the Collection of Fees for Residents’ Basic Medical Insurance Coverage in 2025,” it was mentioned that the collection of residents’ health insurance fees would be tied to the political performance of local officials, and the main responsible individuals of units with poor performance or delayed progress in fee collection will be held accountable.
After the release of the abovementioned notice from Bajiao Village, Hunan Province, it sparked discussions among netizens on social media platforms in China.
User “Beishide Laohuo”: Well, the pressure to collect keeps mounting from higher levels, assigning tasks to lower levels. It’s tough at the grassroots level; if they don’t collect, they can’t fulfill tasks and will be criticized by higher-ups. Pushing villagers to pay, but if they refuse, they’ll be exposed.
User “Tang Xiaofeng”: It’s getting more expensive, my mom said it was 380 last year, and now it’s 400.
User “Xi Er”: 400 yuan per person, for a family of five or six, it’s quite a significant expense.
User “User Lao Zhou Comments”: From schools to village committees, the news about collecting health insurance fees keeps coming.
According to public information, in 2017, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the full implementation of a comprehensive healthcare insurance plan at the 19th National Congress. However, after the outbreak of the epidemic in China in 2020, Premier Li Keqiang revealed during the National People’s Congress that there were “600 million people with low to middle-income, with an average monthly income of around 1,000 yuan,” sparking widespread discussion at home and abroad.
With three years of epidemic control measures and the continuing economic downturn, China has seen waves of business closures and unemployment across various industries, causing many ordinary people to struggle to afford the rising health insurance costs.
According to previous reports by “Financial Health,” the number of people enrolled in the national basic health insurance decreased by 17.05 million in 2022 compared to 2021. What’s more concerning is that the number of residents covered by health insurance decreased by 25.17 million. This decline is partly due to natural factors but also largely attributed to the continuous increase in premiums, leading residents to proactively withdraw from insurance.
In 2003, when the government established the rural cooperative medical system, the individual payment standard was only 10 yuan. Over the following years, the standard gradually increased, with the personal premium reaching 380 yuan by 2023. In 20 years, the individual premium has increased by 37 times, with an average annual growth rate of 19.78%.