Chinese govt stresses health care reforms

The Chinese State Council, the country's cabinet, has issued a guideline to boost reforms on health care systems this year, a government statement said on Wednesday.

The guideline puts forward 31 tasks in six fields to deepen health care reforms.

Reforms on public hospitals will be stepped up through adjusting prices of medical services, improving medicine purchasing in county-level hospitals and boosting policies and mechanisms for traditional Chinese medicines, the statement said.

The government will take measures to encourage private hospitals, including lowering access conditions and improving the policy environment for private hospitals.

More efforts will be made to expedite the building of a universal health care system, including improving coverage for serious diseases and developing commercial health care insurance, the statement said.