China-CHINA! announces ambitious universal healthcare plan

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7175501.stm

China unveils healthcare scheme
By Shirong Chen
China analyst, BBC News


China's health minister has announced an ambitious programme to provide basic healthcare for every citizen in the world's most populous nation.

Chen Zhu said the Healthy China 2020 programme would provide a universal national health service and promote equal access to public services.

Mr Chen was speaking at the national Health Forum in Beijing.

Critics say China's health system falls far behind the needs of the 1.3bn people it is supposed to look after.

Since the economy was opened up 30 years ago, China has gradually abandoned the old communist-style cradle-to-grave welfare system.

As a result, earning money has become the target for many hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Seeing a doctor and staying in hospital can be financially crippling for patients and their families in China, especially for the urban poor.

For the tens of millions in the countryside, health provision is even more patchy.

Lack of access and rampant corruption have often been a source of social discontent.

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