China's administration will work to include more life-saving medicines in the country's medical insurance this year, said Hu Jinglin, head of China's State Medical Insurance Administration, at the Ministers' Corridor on Sunday.

Hu revealed that in 2018, 45,000 people were reimbursed 260 million yuan following the inclusion of 17 anti-cancer drugs on the medical insurance list at the end of the year. In January this year, 12,000 people from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou alone were reimbursed 100 million yuan.

The government added 17 anti-cancer drugs to the national basic medical insurance program following price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies last year. The price of the drugs dropped 56.7 percent on average compared to the average retail price.

Hu pointed to the necessity to reform the current management method of medical insurance catalogs. Some medicines will be pulled out of the catalog based on clinical needs and the affordability of the medical insurance fund. The goal is to establish a dynamic work adjustment mechanism for the medical insurance catalog.

The administration also vows to continue combating medical fraud in the country. A special team led by the administration investigated and dealt with 66,000 illegal medical institutions in 2018.

Hu was among the ministers to meet the media at the Ministers' Corridor after the second session of 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opening ceremony. This is the first Ministers' Corridor press briefing of the Two Sessions.