Cards tested

A one-card-pays-all system is also being tested in the region, where the country's third-generation social security cards have been introduced. These cards can be used, for example, to pay bus fares and hospital bills.

The medical treatment partnerships program in the region's demonstration zone has made hospital visits easier.

Wang Xiaodong, who lives in Jiashan, recently went to the Qingpu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai.

He had undergone basic medical examinations, including a blood test, at clinics near his home in Jiashan, before going to the Qingpu hospital for a telemedicine session with a doctor from Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, who accessed the test result through the internet.

Wang paid his bill online with his Jiashan health insurance card, and the drugs he needed were delivered to his home.

He is just one of many people who are seeing doctors at hospitals away from their home districts.

According to the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office, 1.55 billion yuan has been received in direct medicare payments for services used by outpatients at 9,000 hospitals and clinics away from their home provinces.

Wang said: "Integration has hugely benefited people's lives. It saved me the trouble of going to the downtown area and lining up."

Huang Xinyi contributed to this story.