Almost 3.63 million urban Chinese received healthcare benefits
in the first nine months of the year, up more than 70 percent over
the same period last year, Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo
said on Wednesday.
Li said about 2.11 million urban Chinese received medical
assistance from January to September last year.
"This is assistance provided by the government to those who are
ill, but cannot afford medical bills," Li told a conference of the
China-UK Urban Health and Poverty Project (UHPP).
Up to the end of September, 86 percent of China's counties had
set up an urban healthcare benefit system, Li said.
The central budget allocated 1.3 billion yuan (171 million U.S.
dollars) this year to subsidize local governments, an increase of
170 percent from last year's 480 million yuan (63.16 U.S. dollars),
he said.
The local government budget this year also increased by 30
percent to 1.76 billion yuan (231 million U.S. dollars), Li
said.
The urban healthcare system, mainly covering urban people who
receive subsistence allowances, had focused more attention on the
actual needs of more underprivileged people living in cities, Li
said.
"The coverage has been extended from hospitalization to common
illness assistance," he said, adding application procedures had
been further simplified and the application threshold lowered to
enlarge the number of recipients.
"The role of community health services have been given full play
so as to provide medical convenience to recipients such as charging
lower fees but offering more considerate services," he said.
Li praised "the contribution and great help" made by the UHPP in
the country's medical assistance testing over the past seven years,
saying, "The project has offered a helpful experiment for
establishing community service-based healthcare system in
China".
He said the ministry would learn from the project and further
research how to effectively meet the healthcare demands of the poor
and increase the fairness and accessibility of medical
services.
The UHPP, a bilateral health cooperation program jointly
established in 2000 by the government of China and the United
Kingdom, was piloted in such cities as Chengdu, Shenyang and Xining
and Yinchuan over the past seven years.
Chris Scarf, a leading UHPP expert, said community medical staff
in China received a comprehensive "all-around doctor" training via
the program.
The central government has started basic medical insurance this
year, covering major illnesses for all urban residents, with the
government subsidizing the poor people, including the migrant
population living in cities.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2007)