All 510,000 college students studying in Shanghai will be covered by the city's medicare program designed for college students, as part of efforts to reduce medical treatment costs.

Standards will be same for all students, no matter if the student comes from a state-run university or a privately funded college, is a Shanghai native or an out-of-town student studying in the city, the city government said yesterday.

The city's nearly 140,000 students in privately funded colleges used to be out of the medicare system for university students.

How many benefits state-run college students could get also depended on their schools, as the universities applied their own management rules.

The new guidelines will ensure every student can get fair access to social security, the city government said.

The city will set aside a special fund to help cover the charges of hospitalization and treatment for major diseases.

If a student is hospitalized in a top-level hospital, the first 300 yuan (US$37.5) of the hospitalization fee should be paid by the student. When the charge exceeds 300 yuan, the additional money will be covered by the fund.

The threshold will be lower if the student is treated by a lower-level hospital.

The fund will also cover the cost of treatment for major illnesses, including cancer and kidney diseases.

(Shanghai Daily April 5, 2007)