China will conduct a pilot program to enroll¹ prisoners in basic medical insurance to protect their legitimate² rights, a senior justice official said.

一位司法部门高级官员表示，我国将开展把服刑人员纳入基本医疗保险的试点项目，以保障其合法权益。

The two-year test will be conducted in Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hainan, Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces and Chongqing before being rolled out nationally, Wang Jinyi, director of the Prison Management Bureau at the Ministry³ of Justice, said in an interview.

司法部监狱管理局局长王进义在接受采访时表示，这项为期两年的试点将率先在黑龙江、江西、海南、贵州、陕西和重庆开展，之后推向全国。

"We're in discussions with other authorities, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and preparing to introduce a regulation to further clarify the details," he said.

他说道：“我们正与财政部、人社部等其他部门讨论，准备推出一项规定进一步阐明相关细节。”

Wang said most medical expenses incurred⁴ by inmates⁵ will be covered by the national medical insurance fund.

王进义表示，服刑人员的大部分医疗费用将由国家医疗保险基金负担。

"Under the new measure, sectors⁶ with different tasks will improve the mechanism⁷ and work closely to better protect inmates' health rights and other legitimate rights," he added.

他补充说道：“根据这一新措施，有不同任务的各部门将改善机制，密切合作，以更好地保护服刑人员的健康权利和其他合法权利。”

According to the Justice Ministry, China has 1.7 million convicts serving sentences in 680 prisons, and 320,000 correctional officers.

据司法部透露，中国现在有680个监狱，服刑人员为170万，还有32万名狱警。