Key Points to Consider The size of China’s growing consumer market isn’t enough to ta

Key Points to Consider

The size of China’s growing consumer market isn’t enough to tackle the many hurdles that the country faces in implementing large-scale healthcare reform.

Major healthcare issues for China to tackle include:

• Imbalanced healthcare development between rural and urban areas;

• Operational weaknesses in the public health sector;

• Lack of government investment in healthcare; and

• Increasing medical expenses forits citizens.

In addition, the country’s reform efforts aim to:

• Strengthen China’s public healthcare service system, especially in rural areas;

• Improve management and supervision of public medical institutions;

• Increase basic medical insurance coverage for its citizens; and

• Allow more affordable pharmaceutical drugs on the market.

Approximately $125 billion was allocated for the initial three years of the reform plan (2009-2011). About two-thirds of the $125 billion has been allocated to healthcare recipients, mainly through subsidized insurance programs. One-third is allocated to healthcare providers, especially those at county-level hospitals and clinics.