Key Medical Priorities in China's 2018 Government Work Report: A 900-Word Overview
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) reported on March 5 that the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress opened this morning, with Premier Li Keqiang delivering the Government Work Report to the congress on behalf of the State Council.
Summary of Content Related to the Healthcare Industry:
Further Strengthening of Social Security Coverage
Social endowment insurance covers over 900 million people, and basic medical insurance covers 1.35 billion people, creating the world’s largest social safety net. Average life expectancy has reached 76.7 years.
Subsidy Standards for Basic Medical Insurance Raised
The per capita fiscal subsidy standard for basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents was raised from RMB 240 to RMB 450; the critical illness insurance system has been basically established, benefiting over 17 million person-times; direct settlement of hospitalization expenses for cross-regional medical care has been implemented; and the development of tiered diagnosis and treatment and medical consortiums has been accelerated.
Improve the Social Assistance System
Continuously and reasonably raise the basic pensions for retirees. Increase standards for subsistence allowances, preferential treatment, and other benefits; improve the social assistance system, ensuring basic livelihoods for nearly 60 million people receiving subsistence allowances and those in extreme poverty. Establish a system of “two subsidies” for disabled persons in financial difficulty and those with severe disabilities, benefiting over 21 million people.
Strengthened Supervision by the Food and Drug Administration
Reform and improve food and drug supervision, and strengthen whole-process risk control.
Promoting “Internet + Healthcare”
Strengthen and expand emerging industrial clusters, implement big data development initiatives, enhance the research, development, and application of next-generation artificial intelligence, and promote “Internet Plus” across multiple sectors including healthcare, elderly care, education, culture, and sports.
Strengthening Research and Breakthroughs in the Prevention and Control of Cancer and Other Major Diseases
Strengthen the construction of the national innovation system. National investment in science and technology should be tilted towards areas related to people's livelihood, with intensified efforts to tackle key challenges such as smog control and the prevention and treatment of major diseases like cancer, so that scientific and technological advancements can better benefit the people.
Addressing the Issue of "Difficulty in Accessing Medical Care"
Advance social system reforms. Deepen the reform of the old-age insurance system and establish a central adjustment system for the basic old-age insurance funds of enterprise employees. Deepen the comprehensive reform of public hospitals, coordinate the advancement of reforms in medical service pricing, personnel compensation, pharmaceutical distribution, and health insurance payment methods, improve the quality of medical and health services, and make strenuous efforts to resolve the difficulties people face in accessing medical care.
Opening Up Investment in the Healthcare Sector to Foreign Investors
Promote the stable growth of foreign investment. Strengthen alignment with internationally accepted economic and trade rules, and build a world-class business environment. Fully liberalize general manufacturing, and expand opening-up in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, education, elderly care, and new energy vehicles.
Implement the Healthy China Strategy
Enhance the coverage of basic medical insurance and critical illness insurance. The per capita fiscal subsidy for residents' basic medical insurance will be increased by another 40 yuan, with half of this amount allocated to critical illness insurance.
Expand the scope of direct settlement for cross-provincial medical treatment, incorporating all primary-level hospitals and groups such as migrant workers and non-local entrepreneurs and employees.
Strengthen the workforce of general practitioners and promote tiered diagnosis and treatment. Continue to raise the per capita fiscal subsidy standard for basic public health services. Improve maternal and child health care services.
Support the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese medicine.
Innovate food and drug regulatory approaches, prioritize the use of the internet, big data, and other technologies to enhance regulatory effectiveness, accelerate the implementation of full-process traceability and information tracking, ensure that problematic products have nowhere to hide and illegal manufacturers and sellers cannot evade legal consequences, and enable consumers to purchase with confidence and consume safely.