英闻天下——333 Minister Interprets China's Healthcare Reform

 　　China's Health Minister, Chen Zhu, has been praising the country's medical reform in the past years, but also says there are more challenges and objectives to be met in the following years.

 
　　CRI's Alex Blucher brings more details.
 
　　A nurse takes care of a child at Yinchuan Maternal 1 and Children Health Hospital in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous 2 Region, Feb. 12, 2012. [Photo: Xinhua]
 
　　After three years of reform, the Health Minister says basic medical security network now covers 1.3 billion people - that's over 95 percent of the total population.
 
　　At the same time, the out of pocket health expenditure 3 is also said to have fallen from 40 to 35 percent, while average life expectancy 4 has now risen to nearly 75.
 
　　In the past, China's healthcare used to be plagued by high costs and uneven 5 access, with around 70 percent of the country's resources located in large cities.
 
　　Health insurance to the nation's vast rural areas was also previously 6 neglected.
 
　　In 2009, the Chinese government began a three-year healthcare reform program designed to provide across-the-board healthcare services.
 
　　China has now set the goal of providing universal health care to every resident, in both rural and urban areas by the year 2020.
 
　　Chen Zhu has also talked about the most urgent task facing China's healthcare reform.
 
　　"One is to promote the co-ordination among medical hygiene 7 system, health insurance system and medicine market circulation, as well as the reform of public hospitals. The other is sticking to the 'prevention first policy'. "
 
　　He also says the biggest hurdle 8 for the health care is the reform of public hospitals, especially those at secondary and county-level hospitals.
 
　　70 percent of Chinese hospitals are publicly owned.
 
　　However, low government investment has given rise to accusations 9 of "over treatment" and "doctors making a living on prescribing medicine".
 
　　Chen Zhu says public hospitals should behave like providers of public goods, but not managers.
 
　　Looking forward, he also spoke 10 about the challenges still ahead.
 
　　"Healthcare undertakings 11 are still falling far short of the public's demands for healthcare. The primary level healthcare capability 12 still needs to be strengthened."
 
　　County hospitals directly serve over 900 million Chinese. Rural patients, however, tend to flood into major hospitals in cities to seek better quality services.
 
　　China has managed to develop county-level hospitals to help reduce the pressure on hospitals in the cities.
 
　　The latest five-year plan for medical and health service, aims for 90 percent of common and serious diseases to be treated in county-level hospitals.
 
　　Meanwhile, China's efforts in the healthcare reform have also won the acknowledgement of the World Health Organization.
 
　　For CRI, this is Alex Blucher.