China: 28 provinces cover zero out-of-pocket hospital births

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Healthcare Security Administration said 28 provinces and 303 coordinated regions now implement zero personal payments for policy-covered hospital childbirth. Maternity insurance covers 260 million people, with flexible workers included in 22 provinces. In the first seven months, maternity insurance fund spending reached 78.42 billion yuan, benefiting 25.56 million people, and maternity allowances were fully paid directly to individuals.