Deputy director of the National Healthcare Security Administration Wang Wenjun said at a State Council Information Office briefing on the 4th that China’s long-term care insurance has enrolled over 320 mln people, with cumulative payouts of 114.2 bln yuan and care provided to more than 4.6 mln disabled people. Twenty-two provinces have issued provincial implementation plans and 121 pooled coordination regions are in place; authorities expect nationwide coverage to expand to 247 pooled regions by

Ukraine's President Zelenskiy said he spoke with NATO Secretary General Rutte, briefing him on recent Russian strikes, Ukraine's defensive needs and preparations for talks with the US president's envoy.

The National Healthcare Security Administration said it will continue expanding centralized procurement coverage and regularly carry out nationally organized centralized procurement for drugs and medical consumables, while guiding provinces to advance interprovincial alliance purchasing. It will stick to the rule that new drugs are excluded from centralized procurement and non-new drugs are included, and will target high-clinical-use, inflated-price products—including traditional Chinese medicine, biologics and medical consumables—to lower patient costs. The agency said it will optimize procurement rules under the principles of steady clinical supply, quality assurance, anti-internal competition and preventing bid collusion, emphasizing clinical demand and implementing a ‘‘remove abnormally high prices; do not award volume to abnormally low prices’’ policy to steer fair competition and crack down on collusion. It will coordinate with the drug regulator to tighten quality thresholds, carry out full-coverage inspections of nationally selected suppliers and product sampling, and impose strict sanctions on firms found in breach.