China will push ahead with the experiment of basic medical
insurance in cities to solve the health care problems of unemployed
urban residents, Chinese vice premier Wu Yi said on Tuesday.
Wu Yi, also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the pilot program
should give residents freedom of choice, take account of different
situations in different cities and mainly target serious
diseases.
Wu said local governments should allocate the money needed for
the program.
The reform of the medical insurance system should be spurred as
part of the reform of the overall healthcare system and drug
manufacturing. Community medical services should be further
improved and traditional Chinese medicine developed, she said.
China launched the pilot program in April to ensure that more
urban residents are covered by basic medical insurance.
People --including children-- who are not covered by basic
medical insurance for urban employees can be insured against
illness through the basic urban resident medical insurance
system.
(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)