A pilot medical insurance project has covered 1.24 million migrant workers in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province since last March, and the city hopes to extend the scheme to benefit 3 million by the end of this year.

By the end of last year, 1.24 million migrant workers from 5,500 companies had joined the medical insurance system, according to experts and officials at a meeting held here Saturday to appraise the medical insurance system for the migrant workers.

Migrant workers, who are usually from rural areas, can apply for reimbursement of up to 60,000 yuan (7,500 U.S. dollars) of medical expenses under the system. To be insured, a worker is only required to pay 4 yuan (50 cents) and his/her employer pays another 8 yuan (1 dollar) every month.

The insured workers saw the doctor 385,000 times and were hospitalized 1,206 times last year in 132 appointed hospitals.

Source: Xinhua