White paper offers cure for health system

Despite China facing long-term challenges in providing people with high-quality medical care, particularly in rural areas, the top health authority has vowed to ease patients' economic burdens.

By 2015, individual out-of-pocket medical spending will be reduced to below 30 percent from the current 34.8 percent, said Vice-Minister of Health Zhang Mao at the launch of the country's first white paper on medical and health services.

The document was released by the Information Office of the State Council on Wednesday in Beijing.

Citizens in many developed countries pay about 20 percent of their medical bills out of pocket, thanks to sound health insurance coverage.

International studies show that the rate should be kept below 30 percent to prevent patients from going broke in case of major diseases, according to Zhang.

The figure in China has declined to its current level from nearly 60 percent in 2001, said the white paper.

"That's largely because of increased government investment in health and medical care and ongoing medical reform which has entered a fourth year," Zhang said.

The latest round of reform aims to establish a universal healthcare system on the mainland, assuring the basic, affordable healthcare services and at the same time addressing the previous issues in the sector.

So far, a medical and healthcare system including medical infrastructure construction, service supply and health insurance coverage has taken shape, covering more than 1.3 billion people in urban and rural areas, according to the white paper.

"The rural population, in particular, is more aware of benefits from the reforms, which have brought people basic health insurance, and the new rural cooperative medical care system," Zhang said.

That has helped ensure access to basic healthcare services, which were lacking due to insufficient health insurance coverage, experts said.

According to the white paper, by 2011 the reimbursement rate for hospitalization expenses under the system reached roughly 55 percent.

But Zhang also conceded that medical care resources, especially those of high quality, are still in short supply in rural areas and grassroots-level health institutions.

"That will be the long-term challenge facing the country," he noted, adding that quality resources, especially medical talent, are now concentrated in cities and large hospitals.

In response, the government has invested more than 47 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in the past three years to support grassroots-level hospitals.

"We could help equip them with advanced medical infrastructure, but it's more important and tough to enhance capacities there," Zhang said.

More professional training will be given to medical staff at grassroots-level hospitals with support from large hospitals in cities, he said.

Meanwhile, "favorable policies will be issued to attract highly competent medics", he said.

Also, by 2015, the country will train 150,000 general practitioners particularly for grassroots-level hospitals, according to Zhang.