Yiwu has seen the number of foreign residents enrolled in its basic medical insurance program reach 10,000.
义乌市参保基本医疗保险的外籍居民人数已达10,000人。
On December 17, a Russian business visitor successfully completed enrollment at the Yiwu International Trade Service Center in the Jinyi area of the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone, becoming the 10,000th foreign national to join the city’s basic medical insurance program. With this milestone, Yiwu has become the first county-level city in China to register more than 10,000 foreign participants in its healthcare system.
12月17日，一位俄罗斯商务人士在浙江自由贸易试验区金域片区的义乌国际贸易服务中心成功完成参保登记，成为该市基本医疗保险计划的第1万名外籍参保人。这一里程碑事件标志着义乌市成为全国首个在医疗保障体系中注册超过1万名外籍参保人的县级城市。
The newest enrollee signed up as a flexible employment participant, benefiting from a reform pilot launched in Yiwu after Jinhua was approved in May to implement the national long-term mechanism innovation for medical insurance. Under this initiative, foreign nationals who hold a residence permit for two years or longer can enroll as flexible employment participants, enjoying medical insurance coverage on par with Chinese citizens. This policy removes the previous limitation that foreign nationals could only access insurance through company employment, filling a gap in China’s system for flexible-employment medical coverage.最新参保者以灵活就业人员身份参保，受益于金华市于5月获批实施国家医疗保险长期机制创新后，义乌市启动的改革试点。根据该试点，持有两年及以上居留许可的外籍人士可注册为灵活就业人员，享受与公民同等的医疗保险待遇。此项政策打破了此前外籍人员仅能通过企业雇佣获取保险的限制，填补了中国灵活就业医疗保险体系的空白。
Yiwu maintains trade relations with more than 230 countries and regions, and currently hosts over 30,000 foreign businesspeople. Leveraging its free-trade zone location and the benefits of international trade reforms, the city has continuously explored foreign-related medical insurance innovations. Measures include upgrading hospital billing systems, creating exclusive enrollment codes for foreign participants, and synchronizing foreign work permit issuance with medical insurance registration to streamline access to healthcare. To date, foreigners from 126 countries are able to enjoy the same city-level medical services as local residents.
义乌市与230多个国家和地区保持着贸易往来，目前接待外国商务人士超过3万人次。依托自贸区区位优势和国际贸易改革成果，该市持续探索涉外医疗保险创新举措。具体措施包括升级医院结算系统、为外籍参保人设立专属参保代码，以及将外籍人员工作许可签发与医疗保险登记同步办理，从而简化医疗保障流程。截至目前，来自126个国家的外籍人士已能享受与本地居民同等的城市级医疗服务。
Practical benefits are already evident. In early November, a recently enrolled Moroccan patient underwent surgery at a top-tier hospital in Yiwu, with most of the medical expenses—exceeding 10,000 yuan—covered by the insurance fund upon discharge. In another instance, a Nepalese businessperson used a social security card at a “24-hour smart pharmacy” in a local community, where the medication guide was available not only in Chinese but also in English, Arabic, and other languages. Such changes are quietly integrating into the daily lives of foreign residents.
实际效益已初见成效。11月初，一位新入院的摩洛哥患者在义乌某顶级医院接受手术，出院时大部分医疗费用（超过1万元）由医保基金全额报销。另一起案例中，一名尼泊尔商人使用社会保障卡在当地社区的“24小时智能药房”就诊，该药房不仅提供中文版用药指南，还提供英文、阿拉伯文等多种语言版本。这些改变正悄然融入外国居民的日常生活。
Since the establishment of Yiwu’s Medical Insurance Bureau in 2019, foreign participants have filed 95,400 reimbursement claims, with total insurance fund payouts exceeding 24 million yuan.
自2019年义乌市医疗保险局成立以来，境外参保人员已提交报销申请95,400份，累计保险基金赔付金额超过2400万元人民币。