China is expanding medical insurance accounts to enable them to be shared among immediate family members rather than reserved for personal use.

Set up in 1998, the State-level medical insurance system allows only insured employees to use their personal account to cover their own expenses at medical institutions.

Under a reform guideline released by the General Office of the State Council on Thursday, immediate family members-including spouses, parents and children-will be able to use the personal account of the insured.

Their expenses incurred when purchasing medical devices, medicines and medical consumables at designated pharmaceutical stores can also be covered, the guideline said.

Speaking at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office, Chen Jinfu, deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said that social progress in recent years and people"s increasing need for a more convenient life have prompted the policy reform.