ajfortin.com

Xinhua reports today that China’s long-awaited health care reform plan was released for public debate and promises to cover all urban and rural residents by 2020. Medical reform has been deliberated by authorities since 2006.

The reformed plan clarifies government’s responsibility by saying that it plays a dominant role in providing public health and basic medical service. “Both central and local governments should increase health funding. The percentage of government’s input in total health expenditure should be increased gradually so that the financial burden of individuals can be reduced,” the draft said. The plan listed public health, rural areas, city community health services and basic medical insurance as four key areas for government investment.The plan also promised to tighten government control over medical fees in public hospitals and to set up a “basic medicine system” to quell public complaints of rising drug costs. The basic medicine system includes a catalogue of necessary drugs that would be produced and distributed under government control and supervision. Its goal is to ensure accessibility to a range of basic medicines and to prevent manufacturers and businesspeople from circumventing existing price controls.

We’ve been following China’s developments on health care reform for a while now (here, here, here, and especially here). The process has been slow but deliberate with significant research and policy debate on the role of private insurance, for example. China is taking the long view. The question is whether it will be too long for the millions now without health care, and too centered on government bureaucracies to deliver that care.