China reports progress in healthcare reform

2017-07-19
Xinhua

BEIJING — China expanded the number of cities piloting healthcare reform to 200 in 2016, according to a new report.

More than 2,300 public hospitals nationwide participated in healthcare reform last year, according to a report issued by the healthcare reform leading group under the State Council on July 18.

The report states that 92.6 percent of prefectural cities have adjusted the price of medical services, and drug expenses as a percentage of outpatient and hospitalization fees have dropped compared to 2015.

Currently, 1.34 billion Chinese people are enrolled in various public medical insurance systems, accounting for up to 98.8 percent of the population.

In addition, the country has more than 440,000 nonpublic medical institutions and nearly 20,000 licensed doctors practicing at multiple sites, says the report.