China Aims Completing Health-Care Reforms by 2020

China has announced the outlines of a thorough reform of its health care system that pledges to provide improved services to all citizens by 2020.

Experts say that the new move is conducive to tackling a critical issue that has become a major source of public dissatisfaction. In addition, it will help further boost the domestic consumption. CRI Reporter Chen Xi has the details.

The Chinese government has unveiled a blueprint for health-care over the next decade, aimed to complete landmark health care reforms by 2020 to ensure a safe and affordable coverage for its 1.3 billion citizens.

The plan has yet to be published, but the State Council, or China's cabinet, has already announced that it will spend about 850 billion Yuan or 124 billion US dollars on the initial stage of the programme up to 2011.

Li Ling, a professor with Peking University, considered it a bold and preferential move for the public.

"The initial target of the health-care reform is to set up a basic medical system for all the Chinese people. This is of great significance. The core principle of the reform is to provide basic health care as a "public service" to all. It is also a long-term and stable plan."

According to the document, the government role must be strengthened in formulating policies and plans, raising funds, providing service, and supervising in order to ensure the fairness and equity.

Many factors were blamed for causing problems, such as huge development gap between cities and rural areas, low government funding, weak health-care facilities at grassroots level, and increasing disease burdens.

Faced with such weak medical coverage and soaring costs previously, millions of Chinese households are forced to set aside savings in case a family member falls ill, rather than spend.

That has worried a government which is trying to encourage domestic consumption as a way of boosting economic growth.

To this point, Professor Li Ling said the new plan would effectively reverse the situation.

"The reform will not only help improve people's health, but stimulate the economic growth as well. The increasing government funds would help the public, both from urban and rural areas, to save more, which could meet their other demands, including consumption."

To this end, the government will better regulate the price of drugs and health services, focusing on essential treatment and basic medications.

In addition, public hospitals will continue to be dominant providers of medical services, while more priority will be given to the development of grassroots-level hospitals and clinics in cities and rural areas.

Chen Xi, CRI News.