ABSTRACT
The attempt to restructure China's former Health Insurance (HI) for urban workforces in line with the updated requirements of the general reform of the economic system began as early as the late 1980s. Although the formulation of the new HI at the beginning of its long reform process, the trend of converting the single-tiered HI for urban workers into a multi-tiered system with increasing roles for non-governmental stakeholders, has been fully confirmed both in theory and in practice. In keeping with provisions prescribed in the Decree, around 6 percent of a contributory payroll—without imposing a ceiling on the income—should be paid by employers and around 2 percent by workers. Because of the two-tiered structure of the system, revenues generated are split into two parts as well: for an individual medical account, its financing comes from contributions paid by the insured, equal to 2 percent of his/her salary, plus some credits derived from employers' contributions.
