With a louder social voice for understanding and sympathy on the occasion of the 15th World AIDS Day on Sunday (Dec.1), more Chinese AIDS patients are turning to the state medical insurance system for protection of their rights and interests.
"We AIDS patients are also human beings and have the right to survival," said an elderly couple from
Kunming City, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
They are both HIV-positive as a result of a contaminated post-operative blood transfusion 10 years ago.
At first, they were depressed by their situation. Now, however, the couple, driven by their severe financial problems, have begun seeking medical assistance.
Although barely acquainted with its procedures, they have kept vigil outside the door of the social medical insurance system.
When first informed they were HIV carriers, the husband and wife knew almost nothing about the disease and its treatment. Since they had both worked in local government for several decades, it was quite natural they should pin their hopes on public medical services.
But after scouring all local newspapers and government documents concerning relevant regulations, they were still not certain whether AIDS was on the list of "serious diseases" covered by the medical insurance system.
Xiong Xianjun, chief of the medical insurance division of China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security, considers many people are misled by the so-called medical insurance for "serious conditions".
"The medical insurance services are not classified into disease categories. Actually, all diseases, including AIDS, are included in the medical insurance system. Therefore, we haven't highlighted AIDS in any particular way," said Xiong Xianjun.
China has a multi-level medical insurance system which provides basic medical care. Expensive medical procedures are subsidized by private sector enterprises and institutions as well as by supplementary medical insurance which is mandatory in all private sector enterprises.
The basic medical insurance excludes no illness, said Xiong, stressing that AIDS patients enjoy the same coverage as others.
However, he pointed out that AIDS patients and HIV carriers may still confront many difficulties when requesting additional medical insurance assistance due to prejudices and the misinterpretation of policies.
In addition, none of the anti-AIDS drugs have been incorporated into the list of medicines covered by the medical insurance system, said Xiong.
A Wei, a hemophilia patient in
GuangZhou City of South China's Guangdong Province, was infected with HIV via blood transfusion. Earlier this year, his request for coverage of "cocktail treatment" was rejected by his local social security department.
Cai Weiping, A Wei's doctor, said that, although AIDS medicines cannot be reimbursed, the treatment of A Wei's complications is covered.
According to Xiong Xianjun, the question of whether anti-AIDS drugs will be covered by the medical insurance system depends on experts' opinions and is subject to approval by the State Drug Administration.
At present, with regard to urban areas, the Chinese medical insurance system covers only employees and retirees. The number of people covered by medical insurance has grown from over 70 million in 2001 to 87 million at present.
Xiong also pointed out that securing employment for AIDS patients would resolve the problem since they would then be covered by their employers.
