STARTING next year, rural folk and unemployed urban citizens in Shanghai will be grouped together under a new public health care insurance scheme, which is expected to significantly boost rural welfare, local authorities announced yesterday.

Currently, rural residents and unemployed urban citizens are bracketed in different health care schemes with the former enjoying fewer medical spending covered by the public funds.

But under the new unified health insurance management scheme, the per capita annual premium for rural residents will be raised from less than 2,000 yuan (US$315) to more than 3,000 yuan per year — on par with the city dwellers — with around 90 percent covered by the government, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau announced yesterday.