Medical reform eases burden on rural Hunan residents

Changsha (CNS) – Medical reform for rural areas has achieved good results in Lanshan, Sangzhi and Mayang counties and will be extended to over 50 other counties and cities, said Li Youzhi, deputy governor of Hunan province, on Monday.

The reforms were first launched in Lanshan County at the beginning of 2011, when the local government and hospitals jointly established a cooperative medical fund.

Since then, local rural residents have only had to pay part of registration fees for hospitalization, while the fund covers all other expenses, including check-ups, surgery, medicine and nursing care.

In the past, medical treatment was mostly cost-prohibitive for local farmers, but the reform has helped ease the burden, according to locals.

"My wife was hospitalized four times for an inflamed gall bladder, but only paid 400 yuan. Now we can afford the treatment," said a man surnamed Hu. "In the past, the same treatment would have cost us 8,000 yuan."

The policy has already benefited 12,304 farmers in Mayang County alone, with a cost reduction of over ten million yuan by the end of January this year, said Shu Xiangjun, a local official.