The Chinese State Council issued a guideline for the new round of health care reform yesterday (April 6, 2009). It marks the beginning of much anticipated reforms to fix the ailing medical system and to provide equal and affordable health services for everyone.

After over 2 years' debate, the new guideline is finally approved, which aims to ensure universal coverage of health care. And healthcare services will be provided to all the people as a "public service". Five priority areas have been defined in the guideline: to achieve fast development of health insurance system, to develop essential drug list and relevant policies, to strengthen the basic health service delivery system, to improve the equalization of public health care, to conduct pilot of public hospital.

Mao Zhang , Vice Minister of Health, said, "The reform has set the key point of the health care as a kind of public welfare. It outlines that the basic health care service will be provided for all people. The scheme has set long term target, and has also paid attention to current problems. It has very strong maneuverability."

The guideline says that by 2020, China will have a basic health-care system covering four major aspects, public hygiene, medical care, health care insurance, and medicine supply.
For the public healthcare system, the government will promote fair and equal services to both urban and rural residents. From this year, basic disease prevention, health education, and mother and infant health care will be strengthened. And more content will be added to the system to gradually narrow the gap between urban and rural areas.

For the reform of medical care services, public hospitals will continue to be dominant providers of the services, while more room will be given to the development of grassroots-level hospitals and clinics. And more hospitals will be established in rural areas.

Medical insurance is crucial for ordinary households. The government plans to set up diversified medical insurance systems that have urban employees, urban residents who do not work and rural residents covered by some sort of insurance plan.

For the system of medicine supply, the reform plan aims to tighten scrutiny of the distribution and use of medicine. From this year, all health care institutions will be required to use drugs in a catalogue issued by the government. The prices will be supervised by the government.