Five percent of the working-age urban population in the capital
will this year be brought under a medicare network that covers
serious diseases, making Beijing and Shanghai the first two cities
to meet their healthcare goals for urban residents.
The initiative will benefit 250,000 Beijingers - 5 percent of
the total working-age population with official residence in the
capital - according to a report by the Beijing Morning Post.
Since September, minors and retired elderly people who do not
have medical insurance have been covered by a special scheme that
includes the treatment of serious diseases.
As a result, the basic medical insurance scheme, devised to
shield the country's urban population from heavy medical bills for
serious illnesses, will cover all of the intended beneficiaries
living in Beijing this year.
Shanghai has a similar target, while the national goal is in
2010.
Meanwhile, a source with the Beijing labor and social security
bureau said the authorities were mulling over a separate program
for the city's 70,000 disabled residents as well as the 80,000
people living on survival allowances from the government.
"A policy to help the underprivileged with medical costs arising
from the treatment of serious diseases should be released within
the year," a division leader with the bureau told the Beijing
Morning Post.
Elderly people without medical insurance have been encouraged to
seek treatment for minor illnesses such as colds and chronic
diseases such as diabetes and hypertension from community
healthcare centers, the official said.
They will be given discounts on outpatient service fees at
community clinics, he said.
Under the framework of the healthcare reform plan released at
the end of last year, central and local governments pledged to beef
up investments in healthcare to ease access to medical
services.
In response, authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong
Province, have issued a plan to expand the provincial medical
assistance system, according to a report by the Guangzhou-based New
Express Daily.
Under the plan, poor residents will receive more financial help
and be given access to a wider range of hospitals when seeking
treatment, the report said.
(China Daily January 2, 2008)