As China's medicare system draws increasing concern from the
public, members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), think tank for the
government, have voiced their opinions in proposals.
"The current medicare system lacks inter-departmental
coordination, owing to the absence of a platform for exchanges
among medicare, pricing and health departments," said Han
Zhongchao, director of the National Center of Stem Cell Engineering
and Technology.
Zhang Kangkang, a female writer, also said in her proposal that
public medicare should be "de-commercialized" and its profit
minimized.
"By hacking down the cost and expenditure of medical treatment,
we could also reduce corruption within the system, enhance
supervision of funds and ensure proper utilization of medical
resources," she said.
Officially set up in 1993, the new medicare system combining
social mutual assistance program with personal account had been
extended to 1,433 counties nationwide by last September, which
account for 50.1 percent of China's total. About 406 million
farmers, or 45.8 percent of the total rural population, joined the
system by the end of last year.
To date, over 100 million citizens enjoy the system and could
receive reimbursement when they have serious diseases.
However, Qi Ji, vice president of the No. 1 Central Hospital in
Tianjin, said the coverage of the system among urban citizens is
still dwarfed by people's actual need.
He suggested that development of commercial medical insurance be
encouraged so as to form an "effective supplement" of the current
system.
His view is shared by Zhang Kangkang. "After all, our priority
for the time being is to extend the system to more people," she
noted, adding that China should focus mainly on welfare medical
insurance.
Chu Yaping, vice director of the Provincial Department of
Supervision of China's most populous Henan Province, especially
mentioned the medical insurance for migrant workers. "Their working
units should ensure that they are covered by medical insurance as
soon as a contract is signed."
(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2007)