The policy of serious illness relief is to provide limited relief and preferential medical care to urban and rural residents who are poor due to illness, relying on the basic medical insurance for urban residents (employees) and the settlement platform of the new rural cooperative medical system. This policy includes subsidizing insurance, reducing basic medical expenses, special outpatient assistance, inpatient medical assistance, serious illness charity assistance and other forms, aiming at reducing the economic burden caused by major diseases and preventing poverty due to illness or returning to poverty due to illness.

Sources of funds for serious illness relief:

1, government financial allocation: special funds in the government budget support serious illness relief projects;

2. Social donation: donations made by enterprises, individuals or other social organizations to help seriously ill patients;

3. Medical insurance fund: some areas use the funds in the medical insurance fund for serious illness relief;

4. Charitable foundation: The funds raised through the foundation are specially used for serious illness relief;

5. Fund-raising for public welfare activities: The funds raised through various public welfare activities are used to help seriously ill patients.

To sum up, the policy of serious illness relief aims to provide limited relief and preferential medical care for urban and rural residents who are poor due to illness, reduce their economic burden caused by major diseases, and prevent them from becoming poor or returning to poverty due to illness.

Legal basis:

Temporary measures of social assistance

Article 31

The people's governments at or above the county level shall establish and improve the medical expenses settlement mechanism linking medical assistance with basic medical insurance and serious illness insurance, and provide convenient services for medical assistance recipients.