In order to further alleviate the funding pressure on medical institutions, the National Healthcare Security Administration has stipulated that by the end of 2025, all coordinated regions across the country must carry out real-time settlement. This was learned by the reporter from the National Healthcare Security Administration on the 16th. According to the Notice of the Office of the National Medical Security Administration on Comprehensive Promotion of the Reform and Expansion of Instant Settlement of Medical Insurance Funds, by the end of 2026, instant settlement funds will account for more than 80% of the monthly settlement funds of local medical insurance funds. The settlement funds cover the employee medical insurance fund (including maternity insurance) and the urban and rural resident medical insurance fund. Where conditions permit, the inclusion of major illness insurance funds, medical assistance funds, etc. in the scope of immediate settlement can be explored. The settlement funds cover medical expenses such as general outpatient, outpatient chronic and special diseases, hospitalization, childbirth, and pharmacy purchases, and gradually explore the inclusion of medical expenses from other places in the scope of instant settlement. The notice specifies that by the end of 2026, the proportion of designated medical institutions that will open instant settlement will reach over 80%. Promote the full admission of second level and above designated medical institutions, and encourage first level and non graded designated medical institutions to be included in the scope of immediate settlement. Gradually include designated retail pharmacies that meet the conditions into the scope of instant settlement institutions. Notification requirements: standardize the mechanism for fund disbursement. Provincial medical insurance departments should guide and coordinate designated medical institutions in the region to declare medical expenses before the 10th of the following month. Each region should further standardize the real-time settlement process, use information technology to improve the efficiency of real-time settlement, compress the settlement cycle, and allocate settlement funds within 20 working days from the day after the application deadline for designated medical institutions, striving to allocate them in place before the end of the following month. Each region can reasonably determine the proportion of immediate settlement and disbursement based on the current year's medical insurance fund budget, previous years' medical insurance fund expenditures, and other factors. (New Society)