Chinese legislators urge deepened reform on public hospitals

BEIJING - Chinese legislators on Friday called for improvements to the nation's 13,000 public hospitals, focus of an overhaul of the national health system that began in 2009.

Legislators at the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee want the income of health workers to remain at a decent level to preserve morale.

Legislator Che Guangtie said health workers should get a better deal in public hospitals as their performance affects the outcome of reform. Zheng Gongcheng agreed that the interests of doctors should not be prejudiced and any reform should guarantee a respectable income for medical practitioners.

Zheng also advocates that the size of public hospitals be capped to provide more room for private medical services, already on the rise. China now has over 13,500 private hospitals, 13.7 percent more than a year ago. "Why would private capital go into healthcare if all public hospitals are turned into aircraft carriers?" he said.

The legislators also questioned the efficiency of government spending on health, and demanded an end to waste of public resources. Government investment in health has expanded in recent years, but there are still complaints of high costs and difficulties in getting treatment.

According to Zheng, from 2009 to 2014, government spending on health amounted to 4 trillion yuan (620 billion US dollars), 1.2 trillion yuan of which came from the central government.