Chang-Hong Whitney11.17.08
The 10-page document outlines the basic principles of the new healthcare program, which designates a public, non-profit structure as the core of the healthcare system, bolstered by private providers. The plan stipulates the needs to use both Western and Chinese medicine, strengthen disease prevention, formulate new and reform existing healthcare policies, and increase government investment and involvement in private healthcare sectors. The plan would establish four healthcare groups: the public health system, the health service system, the health insurance system and the drug supply system.
The public health system would be charged with improving disease prevention, health education, crisis response, blood supply and other public networks. The health service system would dictate the structure of non-profit health facilities, providing the foundation for the entire healthcare network. For rural healthcare, county hospitals would lead the provider network, supported by village and township clinics. In larger cities, an urban healthcare network would be established using neighborhood/district healthcare centers to provide prevention programs, basic diagnosis and treatment of common diseases.
The health insurance system would provide basic coverage for the employed, unemployed, the elderly and economically challenged population groups. An experimental insurance program for city residents would be implemented in 2009 around the country. The drug supply system would establish national basic drug list, which would include both Western and traditional Chinese medicine for treating basic ailments. The central government would be responsible for generating and managing this list and determining the appropriate retail prices. This system also would manage the manufacturing and distribution of such drugs by providing subsidies to the manufacturers, so the cost of these drugs can be kept low for average patients.