The Lancet (14.10.2017) The article briefly introduces the major-illness medical insurance in China, which has covered 1.01 billion people (of which 60% from rural areas) since its implementation in 2013. The new scheme is mainly funded (with an annual fee of 15 Yuan to 30 Yuan per person) through surpluses from the existing (social) medical insurance programmes (NCMS for rural residents and URMI for urban residents), and provided by commercial insurance companies through a bidding process. Local governments pay an annual administration fee to the commercial insurance companies that is about 1-3% of their total annual budget. As a result, an actual reimbursement rate of up to 70-80% (compared to less than 50% before the implementation) has been realized by combining the reimbursement under such a scheme ant those under the existing schemes. While much is still to be improved especially in terms of secured financing, the authors believe that the scheme could serve as a useful example for other countries with limited resources.