Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government

We will press forward with the reform and development of the pharmaceutical and healthcare fields. This year will be crucial for implementing the three-year plan for reforming the pharmaceutical and healthcare systems, and we need to ensure that all targets are met.

First, we will fully implement the national system for basic drugs at the primary level. We will put in place a sound system to guarantee supplies of basic drugs, strengthen drug oversight, ensure drug safety and genuinely cut drug prices.

Second, we will do a good job in the pilot projects for reforming public hospitals. We will encourage all localities to make bold explorations concerning hospital management systems, the mechanism for setting prices for medical services and oversight mechanisms. We will improve the mechanism for settling medical disputes, and improve relations between hospitals and patients.

Third, we will raise the level of basic medical insurance. We will steadily cover more working and non-working urban residents under the medical insurance system and more farmers under the new rural cooperative medical care system. This year, government subsidies for the new rural cooperative medical care system and medical insurance for non-working urban residents will be increased to 200 yuan per person.

Fourth, we will complete the construction of the three-tiered county, township and village health service network in rural areas and community-based health service agencies in cities. We will increase government expenditures on basic public health services to an average of 25 yuan per person this year. We will strengthen the prevention, control and standardized management of major communicable diseases as well as chronic, occupational, endemic and mental illnesses. We will strengthen work concerning maternity and child health, and continue the trials of conducting free cervical cancer and breast cancer screenings for women and providing necessary medical treatment to those suffering from these diseases. We will conscientiously do the work of preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS. We will vigorously develop traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic minority medicine and implement supporting policies.

Fifth, we will encourage nongovernmental investors to establish medical institutions. We will expand market access for nongovernmental and foreign investors looking to establish medical institutions. We will improve and advance the system whereby doctors are allowed to work in more than one practice, encourage the reasonable flow of doctors between all types of medical institutions, and encourage them to set up community-level clinics in order to provide convenient medical and health services for the masses.