China unveils detailed public hospital reform measures

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-08 23:12

Cities to be selected for pilot reforms

According to Chen, the government is going to select several cities to try out the new reforms. The trial period will last for the next three years. Chen did not give the number or names of those selected cities.

"We expect the pilot program to help us form a general idea and major measures for public hospital reform and lay the basis for the nationwide reform," he said.

These plans announced Thursday are part of the country's long-awaited medical reform plan, Among which, the one on reforms of State-run hospitals is one the most important.

The other areas include medical insurance, basic medicine, grassroots medical service and public health service, and the entire official plan will be issued "in the near future", Chen Zhu said.

The new plans were also a result of public debate. In 2006, 16 ministries and commissions began brainstorming ideas for the new plan.

On October 14 last year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a draft plan on medical reform on its website for public debate. But it was instantly criticized by the public respondents as being "too general" and "full of empty principles".

As a result, the NDRC received more than 35,000 suggestions in one month. And the Ministry of Health has received more than 200,000 suggestions to date, Chen said.

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