The healthcare reform in China refers to the previous and ongoing healthcare system transition in modern China. China's government, specifically the National Health and Family Planning Commission (formerly the Ministry of Health), plays a leading role in these reforms. Reforms focus on establishing public medical insurance systems and enhancing public healthcare providers, the main component in China's healthcare system. In urban and rural areas, three government medical insurance systems—Urban Residents Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, and the New Rural Co-operative Medical Scheme—cover almost everyone. Various public healthcare facilities, including county or city hospitals, community health centers, and township health centers, were founded to serve diverse needs. Current and future reforms are outlined in Healthy China 2030.
Current health care institutions Healthcare services in China are primarily provided by state-owned hospitals. State-owned hospitals provide services for approximately 90% of patients in China. State-owned hospitals are larger than private hospitals and have better physicians and medical equipment. The government regulates the price of services and wages for state-owned hospital personnel. Health insurance is primarily operated by local governments.
General Guidelines
Healthy China 2020 In October 2009, Chen Zhu, head of the Ministry of Health, declared the pursuit of Healthy China 2020, a program to provide universal healthcare access and treatment for all of China by 2020, mostly by revised policies in nutrition, agriculture, food, and social marketing. Much of the program centers on chronic disease prevention and promoting better lifestyle choices and eating habits. It especially targets public awareness for obesity, physical inactivity, and poor dietary choices. Healthy China 2020 focuses the most on urban, populous areas that are heavily influenced by globalization and modernity. Additionally, much of the program is media-run and localized and concentrates on change through the community rather than local laws. Many of the aims of Healthy China 2020 are concentrated to more-urban areas under Western influences. Diet is causing obesity issues, and an influx of modern transportation is negatively affecting urban environments and thus health. In 2011, it was implemented the Children's Development Program of China with the aim to lower children's mortality and the under 5 mortality rate to 10 and 13 per 1000 live births, respectively. Five years later, their values were reduced to 5 and 5.7 per 1000 infants, but without taking into account the mortality due to withdrawing treatment for critically ill children in respect of which there existed no relevant legislative provisions in China.
Healthy China 2030 In October 2016, after Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang's relevant theme speech at China National Health and Well-being conference in Beijing, China National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline, the most recent comprehensive framework on the goals and plans of its healthcare reform. The strategic theme of Healthy China 2030 is "co-building, sharing and health for all". The project aims to achieve these key goals by 2030: continuous improve in people's health conditions, raise life expectancy to 79, effective control on main health-endangering factors, substantial improve in health service, notable expansion in health industry, establishment of inclusive health-improving regulatory systems. Specific actions include: enhancing health education in schools, promoting healthy lifestyle, encouraging exercise, enhancing universal healthcare access, improve service quality of healthcare providers, special attention to the elderly, women, children and disabled, reforms in health insurance, pharmaceutical and medical instruments systems, etc.
Medical insurance reforms
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