Rural medical care is now available to all farmers based in Shanghai, a city on China's east coast.

 

The cooperative rural medicare program will operate by taking financial contributions from individuals, villages and the government and provide subsidies to farmers with expensive medical bills

 

Farmers will participate in the program on a voluntary basis. It will be available to all of China's 900 million farmers by 2008.

 

(CRI August 7, 2006)