China to pilot medical reform plan this year

BEIJING - China's long-awaited medical reform plan is to be piloted this year "in selected regions," embarking on a path of medical and health development "with Chinese characteristics", Health Ministers said here at a national health conference that concluded Tuesday.

"The major task this year is to pilot key issues listed in the newly-outlined medical reform plan in some selected regions to accumulate experiences before a nationwide implementation," Chen said.

He did not explain how the regions would be selected and failed to give the number of regions that would fall under the pilot scheme.

Chen outlined China's new medical reform plan, which aims to provide universal basic services at reasonable prices, in a report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, in late December last year.

"Relevant guiding opinions and coordinated documents on the reform plan have taken shape," Chen said, noting that the government will soon solicit opinions on the reform plan from the public.

Vice Minister of Health Gao Qiang said at the conference that the country's medical and health development will "follow a path with Chinese characteristics", the first time the government has put forward this notion.

"Imitating foreign models blindly in medical reforms will only lead to mistakes," Gao said.

The scheme features basic concepts including adhering to the orientation of serving the people, ensuring the "non-profit" nature of public medical institutions, cutting hospitals' involvement in drug sales, increasing governmental responsibility and input, and establishing a basic medicare network for the whole population, according to Gao.

"The aim is to provide safe, effective, convenient and low-cost public health and basic medicare service to both rural and urban citizens," Gao said.

The new plan failed to impress some officials present.

Liao Xinbo, vice director of the health department in Guangdong, said the new plan was "not very exciting" and was still not feasible.

Liao, who had participated in the discussions on the plan, said not much new content was added into the plan.

He said some ideas had already been implemented or put on trial by some medical institutions but some ideas that failed have still continued to receive support.