A newborn baby, whose Chinese zodiac sign is dragon, is seen with the mother at a hospital in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 10, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese lawmakers are considering a provision in the draft healthcare security law to clarify that the country will improve the maternity insurance system and expand its coverage.

The draft is set for the second deliberation at a session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee from April 27 to 30, Shi Chunfeng, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told a press conference on Friday.

The draft specifies that the maternity insurance fund and the basic medical insurance fund for employees should be merged into a single accounting system, Shi said.

The draft also stipulates that efforts should be made to coordinate local governments to establish a risk control mechanism for the basic medical insurance fund, and develop a medium-to-long-term revenue-expenditure balance mechanism as well as an emergency response mechanism.

The draft healthcare security law was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for its first review in June last year. It stipulates the system framework and basic institutions for healthcare security.

The 2010 Social Insurance Law and the 2014 interim measures for social assistance contain provisions on basic medical insurance, maternity insurance and medical assistance. But lawmakers say a healthcare security law is needed to keep up with the healthcare security system reform and tackle problems such as fragmented rules.