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Healthcare reform plan 'too hard to understand'
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-16 23:08 Growing public criticism of soaring medical fees, a lack of access to affordable medical services, poor doctor-patient relationships and low medical insurance coverage had compelled the government to launch the new round of reforms.
In the new plan, the government promised to set up a "safe, effective, convenient and affordable" healthcare system that would cover all urban and rural residents by 2020. It clarifies the government's responsibility by saying it plays a dominant role in providing public health and basic medical services. The draft was formulated by a team of officials and experts from 16 departments, including the Ministry of Health and the NDRC. An NDRC official told Chengdu Business Daily (Chengdu Shangbao) that the commission had noticed such complaints. "The plan is a guideline," the newspaper quoted Ren Wei as saying. "Supplementary documents will be released in future." The draft will be open for public debate until November 14. So far, nearly 4,000 comments and suggestions had been posted on the website shs.ndrc.gov.cn/yg, which the government set up to solicit opinion. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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