China to streamline rural medicare

BEIJING - The State Council, China's Cabinet, on Monday approved a plan for better rural medical care by deploying more doctors in the countryside.

The plan will ensure that every 1,000 residents in the countryside have access to at least one doctor at their doorsteps. It will establish village medical institutions and purchase of medical equipment via public-private partnerships and government subsidies.

Rural doctors will get extra training for free, better further education opportunities and preference in their future careers, according to the plan. They will also receive higher pay and pensions.

A statement released after the State Council meeting promised to optimize the allocation of medical resources and offer to the general public an affordable, convenient and efficient medical service.

To do so, all counties in China will have at least one general hospital and a Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital. Trans-regional medical institutions will be tried in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions.

Private investment will be encouraged, while coordination between grassroots medical institutions and general hospitals at county level and above will be improved.