Funding for health care dire, says minister
Only 20 per cent of health-care resources were allocated to rural areas, says Gao, and no more than 200 million urban residents protected last year. People were forced to fork out more for health care. The government earmarks about 11,5 Us $ for every citizen.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Scmp) - Lack of funding for public health care is behind the country's beleaguered medical system, the health minister says.
Gao Qiang said the health system was failing due to the accumulation of chronic problems and it would not be possible to solve them in one stroke, the China Youth Daily reported yesterday.
He told a public lecture organised by the China Hospitals' Association on Saturday that government funding of the health sector had dropped from 6 per cent of total expenditure in the 1980s and 1990s to 4 per cent in 2002.
Of this year's budget of more than 3 trillion yuan, only 120 billion yuan was earmarked for health care. "This percentage is not only much lower than in developed countries, it's lower than a lot of developing countries," Mr Gao was quoted as saying.
The sector has been under constant criticism over soaring costs and inaccessibility, which along with education was a main public grievance.
Critics say the lack of funding has forced hospitals and medical institutes to come up with other ways to cover their expenses. The cost of medicines can be marked up as much as 10 times the wholesale price.
The result, Mr Gao said, was people were forced to fork out more for health care. "We shouldn't marketise everything, and shouldn't [ask the public] to pay for themselves," he said.
Another concern was the skewed funding between cities and rural areas, he said.
Only 20 per cent of health-care resources were allocated to rural areas, while the most advanced technology and equipment, and human resources went to large hospitals in big cities.
"Outpatient clinics at large hospitals in big cities are therefore flooded by a sea [of patients], because people who fail to receive proper treatment or don't trust their local medical institutes have been running to these major hospitals," he said.
During last year's meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr Gao - then vice-minister - pledged to increase supervision of medical institutions and reform the drug pricing system to improve access to health services for the poor.
In his annual work reported submitted to last year's NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao also mentioned the need to solve the health sector problems, but little improvement has been seen in the past year.
A joint study by the World Health Organisation and the Development Research Centre last year ranked China the fourth-worst in equitable distribution of medical resources.
Mr Gao added that slow progress in promoting medical insurance had limited its coverage, with no more than 200 million urban residents protected last year. The government was failing to properly supervise the market for medical equipment and oversee running of public hospitals, he said.
China Legal News ranked medical services second among the top "extortionate" industries last year.
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28/01/2021 15:48
10/02/2020 15:47
