The National Healthcare Security Administration has issued 39 batches of pricing guidelines covering about 180 items for emerging medical technologies and products, as well as services for elderly and pediatric care.

The guidelines set national standards that unify the names, definitions and pricing frameworks for medical services across public hospitals. Local governments will determine specific fee standards.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, Dong Zhaohui, deputy director of the administration's price bidding and purchasing department, said the guidelines cover novel therapies including surgical robots, remote surgery, brain-computer interfaces, artificial hearts, cochlear implants, artificial throats and high-intensity focused ultrasound.

"The establishment of the pricing guidelines is expected to facilitate these technologies' clinical application and stabilize market return expectations among innovative enterprises," Dong said.

When China approved the world's first brain-computer interface implant for commercial use in March, a corresponding pricing guide was promptly issued.

The administration has also released guidelines for advanced cancer therapies such as proton radiotherapy, heavy ion radiotherapy and boron neutron capture therapy.

"The guide has taken into account innovation returns, costs borne by medical institutions, patient access, as well as practical experiences in Shanghai and other regions," Dong said. "It clarifies reasonable payment ceilings per treatment course and aims to improve patient access."

He added that the administration is considering advance pricing for medical services — providing guidance at the clinical trial stage of novel therapies — to help speed up their adoption.

Jiang Changsong, a professor at Capital Medical University's National Institute of Healthcare Security, said that based on the guidelines, government-guided prices for brain-computer interface implantation in Beijing and the provinces of Hubei and Zhejiang are about 7,000 yuan ($873) per procedure, and 1,000 yuan for noninvasive implantation.

"With such a clear pricing benchmark in place, enterprises can calculate the return cycle for their research and development investments, investors are more willing to commit, and hospitals have a basis for charging," Jiang said. "The entire industry chain is set in motion as a result."

He said price guidelines for anticancer radiotherapies are also having an impact.

"With a price anchor in place, more regions are now confident in planning and building proton centers," he said. "This means patients in the future will no longer need to travel across the country or wait in long lines for treatment."

Xing Yuzhu, executive deputy general manager of Beijing Surgerii Robotics Co, said surgical robots previously lacked uniform pricing standards, with fragmented pricing largely driven by a few leading international companies.

The new guidelines clarify fee structures for surgical and auxiliary procedures and set varied pricing tiers based on the level of robot involvement, he said.

The approach allows domestic companies to compete more evenly with foreign brands while helping ensure reasonable returns.

To support efforts to build a birth-friendly society, the administration has also issued pricing guidelines for childbirth-related services, including fetal color ultrasound examinations, pain relief and family companionship during labor, neonatal beds, newborn nursing and premature infant care.

At the same time, pricing items for elderly care — such as "companion-free" services providing round-the-clock nonmedical care for inpatients, home visits, hospice care, home-based hospital beds, online follow-up consultations and remote monitoring — have been introduced to bring services closer to seniors.

Dong said in line with the guidelines, one-to-several "companion-free" care services are priced at about 100 to 180 yuan per day in different regions, lower than the 300 to 500 yuan typically charged by private caregivers.

"This can not only alleviate the financial burden on families but also help attract more talent to the nursing industry," he said.