Watchdog acts to prevent medical insurance leaks, manage costs

Supervision of companies involved in a major national medical insurance program is to be intensified to prevent subscribers' personal details from being leaked.

Companies that violate information security regulations will be severely punished, a senior official at the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday.

"We will protect the information of those insured by using a strict supervisory mechanism to ensure safety and prevent leaks so that information is not used for commercial purposes," said Yuan Xucheng, who heads life insurance supervision at the commission.