BEIJING — Nearly 3.4 million direct settlements of cross-provincial outpatient expenses were made in China in the first half of 2021, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on July 26.

The public medical insurance fund spent 465 million yuan (about $71.7 million) on the direct settlement of trans-provincial outpatient bills during the same period, the administration said at a press briefing.

In 2018, China launched the pilot program of direct settlement of trans-provincial medical expenses. Before its inception, patients had to return to the locality where they were enrolled in the public medical insurance system to be reimbursed.

At present, more than 23,700 designated hospitals and medical institutions in 29 provincial-level regions have been covered under the pilot system.