National Health Commission Director Li Bin Outlines 2026 Healthcare Reform Plan: Doctors to Focus Solely on Patient Care as New Compensation System Set for Release

Healthcare Reform Remains a Public Focus: What Are the Next Steps and Key Priorities? On the afternoon of March 5, Li Bin, Director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, provided a detailed explanation of the next steps and plans for healthcare reform while participating in the deliberations of the Taiwan Delegation.

According to Li Bin, both the Yangtze River Delta region and western provinces will comprehensively advance healthcare reform this year. The next steps in healthcare reform will focus on strengthening primary care to address the challenge of retaining staff at grassroots hospitals, and establishing mechanisms to break away from traditional profit-driven models and restore the public-welfare nature of hospitals. Policy documents on compensation system reform are scheduled to be released this year, aiming to “refocus doctors on their core duty of providing medical care, allowing them to practice with undivided attention.”

This Year, the Yangtze River Delta Region Is Comprehensively Advancing Healthcare Reform

Li Bin stated that since the launch of the new round of healthcare reform in 2009, the framework of the basic medical system, with its core pillars and components, has been largely established. Reforms of county-level public hospitals have been rolled out nationwide, while reforms of urban public hospitals were extended to 100 cities last year. Comprehensive provincial-level reforms were implemented in four provinces last year: Fujian, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Qinghai. Although the pace of advancement has accelerated, “there is a widespread perception that progress is still insufficient and the sense of gain among the public remains weak. With two-thirds of cities yet to undergo reform, we will continue to intensify our efforts this year.”

She stated that over the past five years since the new round of healthcare reform was launched, typical models have been cultivated, forming comprehensive reform experiences that are scalable and replicable for future implementation, such as the reform model in Sanming, Fujian Province. This year, the Yangtze River Delta region, including Shanghai and Zhejiang, will advance healthcare reform as an integrated area, while some western provinces will implement reforms across their entire jurisdictions. “Therefore, the pace and impact of the reforms will become evident more quickly.”

“Bundled Payment” Strives to Address Poverty Caused by Illness

In her speech, Li Bin shared a story. On March 4, she had a discussion with a pancreatic surgeon who had returned from Germany, inquiring about the average treatment cost for a major surgery at his hospital. The doctor stated that the cost for the same procedure in Germany was approximately RMB 200,000, whereas at his hospital in China, it amounted to only RMB 80,000. He further noted that there is still room for optimization and adjustment within this RMB 80,000 fee. For instance, while surgeons in the past manually sutured wounds, younger doctors now use surgical staplers, which add an additional cost of RMB 2,000–3,000.

Li Bin inquired whether it would be feasible to reform the payment method by shifting from itemized billing, which cumulatively amounted to 80,000 yuan, to a bundled payment model. Under this proposed model, the standard charge for the specific disease category would remain unchanged at 80,000 yuan, with any cost savings allocated as income for the medical staff’s technical and labor services. The physician immediately responded that this approach was highly commendable, as it would enhance the level of technical service provided by healthcare professionals.

“What does this indicate?” Li Bin stated that the aforementioned cases demonstrate that demand is insatiable, and the supply of technology is likewise unending. Patients tend to adopt whatever treatments physicians recommend. The deep-seated issues in healthcare reform must be addressed through systemic reforms.

She stated that this year would see the advancement of coordinated mechanisms linking basic medical insurance, critical illness insurance, and emergency medical assistance, with a focus on supporting impoverished populations. For instance, nine major diseases prone to causing poverty due to illness have been identified, including gastric cancer, leukemia, and conditions requiring dialysis. Measures such as designated hospitals and bundled payment models are being adopted to address issues like pricing. Expert evaluations indicate that under these reform models, the majority of patients can afford their diagnosis and treatment costs.

“County-level recruitment for township-level deployment” is also a good approach

Li Bin stated that the next phase of healthcare reform will focus on addressing the issue of “strengthening primary care,” specifically how to enable grassroots hospitals to retain personnel.

“Healthcare reform cannot be achieved overnight, as it is not an issue that can be resolved through mass production; the supply-demand imbalance must be addressed gradually,” said Li Bin. As society enters an aging phase, the prevalence of diseases is on the rise. Therefore, it is imperative to accelerate supply-side reforms in healthcare, expedite the training of primary care personnel, and improve mechanisms at the grassroots level to “ensure that healthcare professionals are retained.”

She stated that “strengthening primary care” mainly involves medical consortiums and the integration of county and township healthcare services. “A medical consortium refers to the linkage between large hospitals and smaller ones; within such a consortium, specialists are required to conduct regular outpatient consultations in community health centers.” She further explained, “The key to integrating county and township healthcare lies in retaining personnel. Some university graduates are reluctant to work at township hospitals but are willing to join county-level hospitals. In certain regions, an approach has been adopted whereby staff members are formally employed by county-level institutions but assigned to work at township-level facilities—a strategy that has proven effective.”

The Salary System Reform Document Was Released This Year

Li Bin stated that the next steps in healthcare reform include establishing mechanisms to break away from the traditional profit-driven model and restore the public welfare nature of hospitals. “Establishing a public-welfare-oriented operational mechanism is the essence of the Sanming experience.” He added, “We refer to this as lowering drug prices to create fiscal space, then ‘emptying the cage to change the bird’—that is, raising the prices for technical medical services to rationalize the system. The government must increase investment and establish a scientific compensation mechanism.”

She explained that the government needs to effectively invest in a scientific compensation mechanism, promote hospitals to return to their public welfare nature, and enable doctors to refocus on their core duty of providing medical care without distraction, rather than worrying about how much revenue their departments need to generate.

She emphasized that to restore the public-welfare nature of hospitals, the income and compensation system for medical personnel must also be reformed. The policy document on compensation reform is scheduled to be released this year. “In the future, individual income should not be linked to the revenue of departments or hospitals. Instead, performance evaluations should focus on workload, the technical complexity of procedures, the quality and attitude of service, and patient satisfaction. These changes will redirect the ‘baton’ of performance assessment.” Meanwhile, a target annual salary system will be implemented to provide physicians with stable income expectations and clear compensation targets.

(Source: The Beijing News)