BEIJING -- In the first quarter of 2025, the medical expenses of nearly 70.8 million patients incurred outside their home provinces were directly settled on site, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA).

During the first quarter, over 3.6 million online registrations for the direct cross-province settlement scheme were processed through China's unified online-filing channel, representing an increase of 18.06 percent year-on-year.

In addition, a rising number of medical institutions have been incorporated into the streamlined settlement scheme. By the end of the first quarter, China had built 651,600 institutions of such kind nationwide.