China's NHSA Issues Lab Testing Pricing Guidance, Completing 40-Batch Framework

The National Healthcare Security Administration has officially issued the Guidance on the Establishment of Pricing Projects for Laboratory Testing Medical Services (Trial), covering major segments including clinical testing, blood transfusion and blood typing, microbiology and parasites, molecular diagnostics, biochemistry and immunology, for a total of 662 main projects, 114 add-on charge items and 7 extended items. The release marks the full completion of the compilation of 40 batches of medical service pricing project guidance, with a unified and standardized national medical service pricing system now largely in place. Laboratory medicine serves as a key pillar of clinical diagnosis and treatment, providing essential evidence for disease diagnosis, treatment monitoring and prognosis assessment. In recent years, as healthcare demand has continued to expand and testing technologies have evolved, the in vitro diagnostics market has grown markedly, with a market size of approximately RMB 130 billion in 2025.

The guidance centers on service output, addressing price differentiation arising from differing testing methodologies; respecting clinical practice and development realities by determining pricing granularity by category; standardizing add-on charge items to reflect higher-quality services at corresponding prices; unifying the definition of pricing units to facilitate convenient billing; specifying tiered discounts for combined testing to ease patient burdens; supporting clinical decision-making functions to reflect the value of laboratory diagnostics; clarifying a "missing data, reduced charge" pricing policy to promote digital health development; and supporting technological innovation by uniformly adding certain testing items. Through these arrangements, the guidance aims to advance mutual recognition of testing results and high-quality disciplinary development.

The National Healthcare Security Administration will guide provincial healthcare security authorities to accelerate the implementation of the 40 batches of pricing guidance, scientifically calibrate price levels, promote relative balance in regional prices, and achieve unified national standards in the medical service pricing field. The release provides a nationwide standard framework for medical laboratory testing charges, with implementation details and specific provincial arrangements to be announced in due course.