Reform of medical care insurance system necessary
Updated: 2013-03-21 22:49
(chinadaily.com.cn)
|
|||||||||
The new leadership of China should attach more importance to reform the medical care insurance system and increase its input into medical care, says an article in the 21st Century Business Herald. Excerpts:
There are three kinds of medical welfare systems functioning in China: Medical care paid by government for civil servants, medical care insurance for urban residents and cooperative medical care insurance for the rural population.
The reimbursement ratio is highest for the first kind and lowest for the third. It is increasingly becoming a social consensus that the Chinese government should gradually unify these three systems by increasing its input into medical care.
From 2008 to 2010, China increased its overall input into medical care from 4.6 percent of GDP to 5.1 percent. But the proportion used in medical treatment only increased from 2.3 percent to 2.7 percent. Government subsidization of the second and third kinds of medical insurance rose only slightly from 50 percent to 53 percent of people's final medical expenses.
The rate of reimbursement is 60 percent in Greece, 63 percent in Russia, 47 percent in Brazil and 44 percent in South Africa.
The share of medical care input is 7.8 percent of GDP in Japan, 4.1 percent in South Korea and 3 percent in Mongolia, all higher than the 2.7 percent in China.
- Li Na on Time cover, makes influential 100 list
- FBI releases photos of 2 Boston bombings suspects
- World's wackiest hairstyles
- Sandstorms strike Northwest China
- Never-seen photos of Madonna on display
- H7N9 outbreak linked to waterfowl migration
- Dozens feared dead in Texas plant blast
- Venezuelan court rules out manual votes counting
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
American abroad |
Industry savior: Big boys' toys |
New commissioner
|
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
TCM - Keeping healthy in Chinese way |
Poultry industry under pressure |
Today's Top News
Boston bombing suspect reported cornered on boat
7.0-magnitude quake hits Sichuan
Cross-talk artist helps to spread the word
'Green' awareness levels drop in Beijing
Palace Museum spruces up
First couple on Time's list of most influential
H7N9 flu transmission studied
Trading channels 'need to broaden'
US Weekly
Beyond Yao
|
Money power |