Chinese vice premier calls for greater efforts in expanding medical reform
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang Tuesday urged greater efforts should be made to expand medical reform this year.
At a meeting of the leading group for furthering medical reform under the State Council, Li said to advance reform and development of medicine and health care cause, priority of work should go to establishment of a basic health care service system accessible to all and improvement of health care service at grassroots level.Full story
Hopes for health reform
BEIJING, Feb. 25 -- The pilot program to revamp State-owned hospitals slated for 16 Chinese cities this year marks the beginning of the much-debated reform to make healthcare services affordable. It is the first step in the long-term goal of establishing a desirable medical care system that is affordable and exceptional in service.
Similar to the hotly debated reform in the United States, which aims to cut high healthcare costs and realize universal coverage, China's move right now is to turn State-owned hospitals into nonprofit institutions and change the way most public hospitals rely on medicine sales for revenue.Full story
China allocates 37.2 bln yuan for medical reforms in 2010
BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Friday that the central government had allocated 37.2 billion yuan (5.45 billion U.S. dollars) to subsidize nationwide medical reforms.
Specifically, 22 billion yuan will be used to subsidize a new type of rural cooperative medical care system, 3.7 billion to subsidize basic medical insurance for urban residents, 3.2 billion to urban and rural medicaid and 8.3 billion to basic public health services, according to a statement on the ministry's website.Full story
Medical reform not postponed: ministry
BEIJING, Jan. 13 -- The Ministry of Health Tuesday dismissed a published report saying that a plan to lower medical bills was halted.
The plan, part of the medical reform initiative launched in April, will discourage State-owned hospitals from over-prescribing medicine in order to make a profit. Some doctors prescribe as many drugs as possible to raise the amount that customers pay.Full story
