The white list for personal medical insurance accounts has arrived—will the pharmacy boom for "medical aesthetic face masks" subside?

May 19, the General Office of the National Healthcare Security Administration and the General Office of the Ministry of Finance issued the “Notice on Further Strengthening Supervision and Management of the Use of Designated Retail Pharmacies’ Employee Basic Medical Insurance Personal Accounts,” clearly establishing a whitelist system for employee medical insurance personal account payments at designated retail pharmacies. According to the notice, provincial healthcare departments are, in principle, required to launch a province-wide unified whitelist for employee medical insurance personal account payments at designated retail pharmacies by the end of September 2026. Items on the whitelist can be paid for using personal accounts at designated retail pharmacies; those not on the list cannot be paid for. The notice specifies that items included in the whitelist should be drugs, medical devices, and medical consumables that are formally approved or registered by drug regulatory authorities, can be sold in retail pharmacies, are closely related to treatment, possess strong medical attributes, and are reasonably priced. According to the notice, health products, daily household items, furniture and cleaning supplies, home appliances, and other non-medical products; toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, facial masks and cosmetics, contact lenses, massage devices, smart communication and timing devices, as well as devices and consumables mainly serving life functions such as sports fitness and health preservation, with low medical added value, are not allowed to be included in the whitelist. This means that consumer products which previously had ambiguous boundaries in pharmacy channels are further excluded from medical insurance personal account payments. Of these, the explicitly named "facial masks and cosmetics" directly refer to the rapidly-expanding category of medical aesthetics repair products in pharmacies in recent years. Compared to ordinary skincare masks, "medical device-approved" facial masks for medical aesthetics are often more readily associated with tags such as “medical,” “repair,” “pharmacy recommendation,” and enjoy higher price premiums to a certain extent. In some pharmacy scenarios, payment via medical insurance personal accounts has been a key factor driving sales. For consumers, the ability to pay with medical insurance personal accounts does lower the perceived cost of self-paid purchases; for pharmacies, such products may also be one category that increases average transaction value and gross margin. However, as the whitelist system is established, this gray area will be compressed. For these companies, this is also the end of a channel dividend. Currently, cosmetic companies such as Fulejia, Giant Biotech, Betain have all established a presence in pharmacies. As the "first medical aesthetics mask stock," Fulejia's products include medical sodium hyaluronate repair patches, etc., with offline channel revenue reaching 413 million yuan in 2025, accounting for about 20%; Giant Biotech's products are available in over 130,000 chain pharmacy stores; Betain's Winona brand has continuously strengthened its penetration in professional pharmacy channels, adding coverage to over 3,500 retail pharmacies in 2025. However, the impact remains to be seen. An insider from a southern chain pharmacy told All Weather Technology that pharmacies are now diversifying their business and are unlikely to delist products just because medical aesthetics masks cannot be paid for with medical insurance personal accounts, and all parties may still need to explore market promotion strategies in the future. Risk warning and disclaimer The market involves risks; investment requires caution. This article does not constitute individual investment advice, nor does it take into account specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions herein are appropriate for their particular circumstances. Investment based on this article is solely your responsibility.