Oct 16, 2020|

JD Upgraded its Medical Subsidy Project for Needy Households

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by Hui Zhang and Vivian Yang

JD Health announced the upgrade of its “Healthy China, Medical Subsidy Project” which provides subsidies for needy households in China, by introducing the ophthalmic medicine category and eliminating delivery fees for some medicine. The announcement was made on Oct. 14th.

The newly added ophthalmic drug category includes eye drops and ointment, which are effective to address cataracts, conjunctivitis, trachoma and other conditions. In addition, free delivery is available for 32 ophthalmic drugs supported by JD.

JD Health together with the online platform of Social Participation in Poverty Alleviation and Development of China, launched the “Healthy China, Medical Subsidy Project” on May 9th. The project is aimed to substantially reduce the burden of medical expenses and on illness-driven poverty (or return to poverty). Under the plan, qualifying participants will each receive RMB 1000 yuan to purchase drugs from a collated list. At present, the list already includes more than 350 drugs covering more than 100 diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cough and cold, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Signing up for the program is simple. After confirming personal identification, participants can enjoy the subsidy either online, through JD Health’s JD Pharmacy or offline at a designated pharmacy pre-screened by JD Health. JD Logistics is responsible for delivery, and the distribution covers most of the country. By the end of September 2020, 42 pharmaceutical enterprises had cooperated in the online project, and the list of subsidized drugs had been expanded to more than 600 , covering hundreds of common and chronic diseases. The list is rapidly expanding the varieties of new special drugs and drugs for rare diseases.

Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Health said, “JD Health has the ability, responsibility, and confidence to collaborate with partners across the health industry supply chain to enable poverty-stricken individuals to reduce their expenditure on medical treatment and medicine purchase as much as possible as well as have the access to more high-quality medicines and services.”

The program has received positive responses and active support from the public. Yingying Lei runs a local drug store named Bao Ji Tang Pharmacy in Luoyang city of Henan province. Her store is accredited to join the Medical Subsidy Project. She said that the program has greatly amplified poverty alleviation efforts for many of her customers.

Yingying Lei introduces the Medicine Subsidy Project to her customers

Yingying Lei introduces the Medicine Subsidy Project to her customers

“After joining the project, we have more resources and in turn are able to provide a greater variety of drugs to people in need who get subsidized via JD’s platform. [With the program,] they don’t need to worry too much about the price anymore,” said Lei.

Qingrui Huang is the owner of a JD franchised store of home appliances in Dazhou city, Sichuan province. He is a public welfare enthusiast and found that the Medical Subsidy Project a meaningful thing to do for his community. He created a 20 square meters’ space inside his store to display the project’s information and voluntarily guide people to navigate the application system.  Huang and his team also set up a booth at a local event to provide information on the initiative.

Huang and his colleagues provide voluntary guidance for local people on the Medical Subsidy Project

Huang and his colleagues provide voluntary guidance for local people on the Medical Subsidy Project

 

Huang said that many poor households in his community live in the towns and counties where they face three main difficulties in buying medicines: a long journey to the drug stores, doubts on drug quality, and unaffordable drug prices. This project and JD’s support help address all these problems.

 

(zhanghui36@jd.com; vivian.yang@jd.com)

 

 

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