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New Policies Spurred Five Major Improvements in China’s Health Industry as of 2017
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New Policies Spurred Five Major Improvements in China’s Health Industry as of 2017

Iyiou, 2017

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In 2008, the Chinese government launched a formal health care reform with an ambitious aim: to establish an effective, low-cost health care system for its more than 1.3 billion citizens. Almost a decade later, reforms are ongoing and Li Meng, staff writer at Hxyjw.com, looks at the new developments and policies implemented in 2017 and the positive effects that these changes have had.  getAbstract recommends this article to anyone studying health care systems around the globe.

Summary

Almost ten years after the initial 2008 launch of health care reforms in China, the country continues to see improvements in its health care system in 2017. Chinese citizens benefit from lower costs for prescription drugs, better access to doctors, quicker reimbursement from medical insurance claims, greater transparency in prescription drug prices and a more balanced use of medical facilities.

Since the 1950s, hospitals imposed a 15% add-on charge on prescription drugs to compensate for administrative and technological costs incurred in medical services. Using drug revenue to sustain the medical system has been a driving force behind bribing and overprescribing. To tackle this issue, policy makers canceled the add-on charge in 2017 and adjusted the prices of medical services based on the type of treatment doctors provide. Canceling the markup...

About the Author

Li Meng is a staff writer at Hxyjw.com, a website that provides information and news on medical services and health care to private hospitals in China. This article was reposted on IYiou.com.