Provincial People's Congress Representative Hu Xiaoxia from Keyuan Xinhai: Calls for Special Medical Foods to Enter Hospitals, Clearing Tax Barriers for Rare Disease Medications | 2026 Two Sessions Policy Discussion

Recently, at the 2026 "Voice·Responsibility" Medical and Health Sector Adult Representatives and CPPCC Members Symposium,Hu Xiaoxia, Provincial People's Congress Representative and General Manager of External Affairs Department, Keyuan Xinhai (Beijing) Medical Supplies Trading Co., Ltd.Shared with VCBeat about "two concerns" during his term: on one side are incapacitated elderly patients suffering immensely from clogged nasogastric tubes, and on the other side are children with rare diseases who were nearly unable to receive treatment due to exorbitant medical costs.

Regarding the widespread nutritional challenges in elderly care institutions, Hu Xiaoxia pointed out that the risk of malnutrition among community-dwelling elderly in China is as high as 41.2%, butMedical FoodBut she was blocked by the ambiguous policy prohibiting the promotion of health products. She suggests establishing a "medical-nutrition synergy" mechanism, allowing integrated medical-care institutions to set up specialized medical food service points, and promoting the integration of elderly care assistance cards with medical insurance payments, so that nutritious meals for incapacitated elderly people will no longer be stuck at the last meter.

In the field of rare diseases, although Beijing has introduced 27 urgently needed drugs through a green channel, differences in tax policies can easily lead to a fragmented security system, leaving patients in a situation where they cannot afford the drugs. Hu Xiaoxia called for the same 3% VAT benefit currently applied to marketed orphan drugs to also apply to temporarily imported, clinically urgent drugs, ensuring that life-saving drugs are not only "accessible" but also "affordable."

In nursing homes, disabled elderly individuals suffering from dysphagia caused by cerebral infarction rely on liquid food prepared by their families for daily nutrition. Due to the inability to precisely control the nutritional balance and particle fineness, clogging of nasogastric tubes has become a frequent issue, causing suffering for the elderly and anxiety for their families. This is not an isolated case but a hidden pain point commonly seen in nursing homes today.

Hu Xiaoxia found in her research that although the population aged 60 and above in China has reached nearly 300 million, and 6.7% of the elderly in Shunyi District are either disabled or semi-disabled, the nutritional support system for this group suffers from a severe "disconnect between medical and elder care."

Current elderly care institutions mostly limit their daily medical services to measuring blood pressure and dispensing medication, which falls under basic medication. However, for seniors with dysphagia or those in postoperative recovery who require more nutritional intervention, the coverage of professional enteral nutrition support is clearly insufficient. Hu Xiaoxia pointed out that research data shows the combined prevalence rate of malnutrition and its associated risks among community-dwelling elderly in China is as high as 41.2%.

This means that many elderly people are full, but they are not eating well. Malnutrition directly leads to a decline in immunity and slow recovery.

In addition to a lack of awareness, the gray areas in policy have also contributed to this dilemma.

Hu Xiaoxia introduced that medical food is neither a drug nor equivalent to ordinary health products. However, in the daily supervision of elderly care institutions, the rigid rule prohibiting the promotion of health products has also kept medical food, which requires doctor's guidance for use, out of reach.

Families want to buy but don’t know the proper channels; institutions want to introduce them but fear violating regulations; with a complicated market full of products, families easily mistake health supplements for medical foods, wasting money and delaying treatment. This situation has made nutritious meals for incapacitated elderly a major challenge.

Beijing Market Supervision Administration, Beijing Health Commission, and Beijing Medical Security Bureau Jointly Promote the Implementation of the "Medical Foods in Hospitals" Policy

This institutional innovation has given Hu Xiaoxia hope: "If hospitals can do it, why can't integrated medical and elderly care institutions?"

In her view, a closed-type elderly care institution is essentially a miniature medical scenario where the health conditions of the residents are relatively stable, but their need for nutritional support is essential. If the hospital model can be replicated in elderly care institutions, it will completely bridge the "last meter" of nutritional support.

To this end, Hu Xiaoxia proposed a closed-loop solution of "Medical-Nutrition Collaboration." The core is to establish an access list, led by the health department to formulate the "Recommended Directory of Special Medical Foods Applicable to Elderly Care Institutions," specifying which products require prescription guidance from physicians or nutritionists. At the same time, elderly care facilities with in-house medical institutions are allowed to set up special medical food service points, with full documentation of prescription information and product batches, ensuring traceability of sources and controllable usage.

More attention should be paid to the innovation on the payment side. Hu Xiaoxia suggested promoting the use of Beijing's elderly care and disability cards to pay for special medical foods, and gradually integrating with the medical insurance system.

"Now 'Beijing Inclusive Health Insurance"Exploration of coverage for innovative drugs is already underway, but could doctor-supervised medical foods also be included in the scope of coverage in the future? Or could a special nutrition subsidy be established?" Hu Xiaoxia believes that only by solving the payment issue can the financial burden on families of incapacitated elderly be truly reduced.

The future breakthrough lies in the refinement of classified management. Hu Xiaoxia emphasized the need to establish a negative list, strictly prohibiting the promotion of non-prescription special medical foods and regular health products within institutions.

If the nutritional support for disabled elderly is a silent battle, then the provision of rare disease medications is a life-and-death race against time.

Hu Xiaoxia will never forget the thank-you letter from the parents of a young patient. A child born with a rare disease, predicted to not survive past one year old, gained access to a globally innovative drug through Beijing's "green channel" in 2025. After 79 days, the child, who had been able to only lie flat, stood up supported by objects.

Beijing has taken the lead in exploring the construction of a pilot zone for the provision of rare disease medications. However, after the drugs become available, a new issue surfaces — they are unaffordable.

Hu Xiaoxia cited a set of data in her proposal: the annual treatment costs for some temporarily imported drugs can reach hundreds of thousands or even exceed one million yuan, far beyond the affordability of ordinary families. The reason lies in the fact that the "last mile" of tax policy has yet to be resolved. In 2019, four national ministries jointly issued a document granting a 3% tax reduction for approved rare disease medications.Simple CollectionValue-added tax benefits. However, this policy only covers registered drugs, and for urgently needed clinical drugs that are temporarily imported and not yet available in China, the same benefits cannot be enjoyed.

"This has led to the fragmentation of the security system," Hu Xiaoxia pointed out. Life-saving drugs that are urgently needed in clinical settings face drastically different tax burdens due to their registration status, indirectly increasing the burden on patients and affecting the sustainability of emergency medical treatment in healthcare institutions. To address this, she explicitly proposed this year: For urgently needed clinical drugs temporarily imported through Beijing's pilot rare disease security zone, apply the same 3% simplified levy on import VAT as the standard for already marketed rare disease drugs.

The basis for this recommendation lies in the consistency of attributes — the temporary imported drugs are entirely consistent with the already marketed drugs in terms of their clinically urgent need. The reduction in tax costs will directly affect the end-price of the drugs, significantly alleviating the burden on patients.

Hu Xiaoxia emphasized: "Rare disease drugs are characterized by temporariness, urgency, and small-scale use. The quantity approved for import by the National Medical Products Administration is limited and restricted to specific medical institutions. They account for an extremely low proportion in China's taxation system but can bring about significant social benefits."

In June 2025, Beijing further implemented supporting measures such as the inclusive health insurance, achieving an initial transition from accessibility to affordability. Hu Xiaoxia believes that commercial insurance should take on more social responsibility in the field of rare diseases, rather than solely focusing on economic calculations. "For ultra-rare drugs with annual treatment costs of two to three million yuan and very few patients, I even suggest addressing the issue through a government special fund, rather than relying entirely on commercial insurance. The approach explored in Zhejiang, which involves allocating part of the funds from individual accounts to establish a special pool, is a direction worth learning from, but it still needs to be improved at the legal level."

Hu Xiaoxia also shared a detail: When a rare disease drug in Beijing was launched, only five patients were found nationwide. However, as the drug became more accessible, more potential patients were identified and diagnosed. Now, dozens of patients are receiving treatment.

"The market has been recognized by companies, and domestic R&D and production can keep up, which is a positive cycle." Hu Xiaoxia believes that the future breakthrough lies in building a diversified payment system of "medical insurance + commercial insurance + special funds + tax incentives" to ensure that every patient can access and afford life-saving drugs.