Shenzhen’s medical insurance card has the lowest price for buying medicines

Social security cards were originally electronic information cards issued by medical insurance institutions to facilitate insured people's medical treatment and drug purchase. According to the explanation of the Baidu entry, insured persons can use their social security cards to seek medical treatment at any designated medical institution or purchase medicines at designated retail pharmacies. But with the increase in per capita income in Shenzhen, the threshold for buying medicines with local social security cards in pharmacies has also increased. From the second half of 2008 to the first half of 2009, the minimum balance was 3,427 yuan. From the second half of 2009 to 2010, it increased to 3,621 yuan. From July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, the minimum balance increased to 4,595 yuan. Yuan.

According to the Shenzhen Social Security Bureau, the "minimum balance limit on social security cards" is set up to protect the needs of outpatient treatment, and "the current model is in line with the characteristics of urban development and is effective." After reading this, the author feels too Lei - On the one hand, cardholders cannot buy medicines in ordinary pharmacies with their own cards and money; on the other hand, the Social Security Bureau confidently claims that it is "in line with development and effective." I wonder whether this evaluation comes from the Social Security Bureau's self-evaluation. Or has it been fully polled?

Moreover, the money in the social security card is deducted from the monthly salary of the insured person. Logically speaking, the insured person has the right to reasonably control his own income. Similarly, since the purpose of medical treatment is to alleviate the difficulty and expense of medical treatment, then for minor illnesses and pains, you can just buy medicine at the drugstore and take it. There is no need to go to the outpatient clinic, which often costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to register, consult, queue up, and get medicine. It is inhumane, wastes public resources, and makes it more difficult to see a doctor in the hospital.

Tracing back to the source, we also have to ask, who exactly is being restricted by enacting such restrictions?

Restrict ordinary people’s freedom to spend money for medical treatment. Undoubtedly, for many people with low salary income and low social security deduction ratio, they may not be able to save enough for the "threshold fee" of swiping their social security card after working for several years. If the amount on the card is less than 4,595 yuan, it is prohibited to buy medicines in pharmacies. Minor illnesses and pains can only be treated at your own expense, which completely violates the original intention of the social security card to "convenience and benefit the people." What's more, if the sick person saves a little more and is more patient, he may give up taking medicine and treat the minor illness. Hold on and endure a serious illness.

It also impedes the transformation of government functional departments from bureaucracy to people-centeredness. We all know that we need to build a service-oriented government, but should social security, civil affairs and many other departments closely related to people's lives also be built in this way? If before the minimum balance limit on social security cards is imposed, relevant departments can think and make judgments from the perspective of ordinary people, instead of simply studying from a hospital-like perspective of "ensuring the need for outpatient treatment"; if they can hold hearings before policy formulation , listen extensively to the opinions of the masses and conduct questionnaire surveys, then the policies formulated will definitely not attract waves of criticism.

The purpose of the social security card is to protect the insured from medical treatment. The money in the card can be used to save for serious illness or can be left for family use. The Social Security Bureau should ensure that the money in the social security card is used for Seeing a doctor and taking medicine should not limit the amount of money spent; it should strengthen publicity on the correct use of social security cards, rather than setting thresholds.

Extended reading: How to buy insurance, which one is better, and step-by-step instructions to avoid these "pitfalls" of insurance