The Chinese people's medical expenditure kept rising steadily
between 1999 and 2003 as a result of growing cost of medicine and
medical examinations and treatment, according to the latest
statistics of the Ministry of Health Saturday.
The cost for government-sponsored outpatient and inpatient
services increased by 8.2 percent and 7.8 percent respectively from
1999 to 2003 on a yearly basis.
In 1999, outpatient services cost 79 yuan (US$9.5) per person on
average, while inpatient services cost 2,891 yuan (US$348).
The cost rose to 108.2 yuan (US$13) and 3,910.7 yuan (US$471) in
2003, according to the ministry.
To curb the fast rising cost for the benefit of the general
public, the ministry is mulling over a series of measures to cut
medicine prices, the difference between medicine wholesale and
retail prices, the charge on examination and treatment involving
large medical facilities, and the cost of medical materials.
The ministry, however, noted that the cost of medical
consulting, diagnosis and treatment services may be raised.
China is currently facing the challenge of low accessibility to
health services. Nearly 49 percent of Chinese cannot afford to see
doctors when they fall ill and 29.6 percent are not hospitalized
whenever they should be, according to a survey, the result of which
was released last month by the ministry.
Factors behind include the country's lack of medical resources,
imbalance distribution of the resources, low coverage of the
medicare system, fast rise of medical costs, and inadequate
government input, said the ministry.
China has 22 percent of the world's total population but only 2
percent of the world's medical resources. Among the medical
institutions, 80 percent are in cities and only 20 percent in rural
areas. The imbalance of resource distribution makes it ever harder
for rural residents to have access to needed medical care.
The ministry has decided to improve medical services in the
rural areas this year and expand the medicare system to cover more
rural residents.
China's per capita cash income of rural households for the first
three quarters of 2004 was 2,109.5 yuan (US$254), compared with the
per capita disposable income of urban households that stood at
7,072 yuan (US$852), according to the National Bureau of
Statistics.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2005)