Aim of the Project: The project aims at carrying forward the spirit of humanism and the tradition of the Chinese people of respecting the senior as well as helping those in plight and relief those in need. So as to help senior citizens solve problems in minor illness treatment.
Background of the Project: At present there are in Beijing 230 thousand people entitled to get aid from the system of ensuring a minimum standard of living and a number of families living at the fringe of the “poverty line” because of various reason. Statistics from relevant departments show that there are 28000 senior citizens in Beijing under the care of the system to ensuring minimum living standard, of whom about 70% live in the countryside. City dwellers are by large covered by basic medical insurance provided they have paid for the insurance. In the countryside, however, people mainly depend on the new cooperative medical system formed on the basis of volunteering with subsides from the government, which mainly pays for high cost medical fees, their illness in most cases do not get timely treatment, thus minor diseases or chronic diseases often standard only solves the problem of basic food and clothing but does not include medical card. So medical care becomes the most difficult problem of such senior citizens.
Contents of the Project: In consideration of the above mentioned situations the Beijing Charity Association takes helping them solve problems of medical care as a major form of love for the seniors. Thus the association and the municipal Bureau of Public Health set up the special project of “Join Hands to Give Health to the Senior – Charity Medical Card”. The project plans to give every senior citizen under the system of ensuring minimum standard of living a medical card worth 500 RMB. The holder of such a card can go to community or township clinic or hospital to receive timely treatment for minor illnesses without paying for registration, treatment, or medicine. The association has paid five million RMB by 2005 and issued 10000 medical to seniors residents of poor families. More cards shall be issued depending on how much fund can be raised, and it is our hope that every senior citizen under the system of minimum standard of living shall eventually receive such a medical card.
Up to the year of 2006, the total expenditure of the project was 14.7 million RMB which rescued 36000 elder people by Beijing Charity Association, this project almost covered above 60 aged people who were from the minimum standard of living in Beijing.
Procedures of the Project:
Word out plan and determine the scope, condition and budget of such medical aid
The municipal association and its offices at the district and country level negotiate and sign agreement on charity medical care
Community or township civil affairs staff help applicants fill up forms of application
Offices of the association at district and country level exam and approve such applications
Determine objects and issue medical cards
Monitor and assess the project (in six months)
Feed back and sum up the project