China unveiled the state medical insurance bureau Thursday morning.

Supervised by the State Council, China’s state MIB is established under the guidance of the State Council reshuffle plan released in the “two sessions” last March. Hu Jinglin was appointed as the director and Shi Zihai, and others, were appointed deputy directors.

The state MIB is set to develop policies, regulations and standards in the sector of health care including medical insurance, maternity insurance and medical assistance, and make sure of the smooth implementation. It also supervises and regulates funds related to medical insurance, improves management for hospitalization and the platform for expense settlement, makes and adjusts price of medicines, medical treatment and defines the charge standards. 

It is also in charge of formulating the bidding procurement policy for pharmaceuticals and medical consumables and improving the efficiency of the collection and management of medical insurance funds.