Health-care reforms in the People's Republic of China: Strategies and social implications

Victor C.W. Wong*, Sammy W.S. Chiu

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Analyses the features, strategies and characteristics of health-care reforms in the People's Republic of China. Since the fourteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party held in 1992, an emphasis has been placed on reform strategies such as cost recovery, profit making, diversification of services, and development of alternative financing strategies in respect of health-care services provided in the public sector. Argues that the reform strategies employed have created new problems before solving the old ones. Inflation of medical cost has been elevated very rapidly. The de-linkage of state finance bureau and health service providers has also contributed to the transfer of tension from the state to the enterprises. There is no sign that quasi-public health-care insurance is able to resolve these problems. Finally, cooperative medicine in the rural areas has been largely dismantled, though this direction is going against the will of the state. Argues that a new balance of responsibility has to be developed as a top social priority between the state, enterprises and service users in China in order to meet the health-care needs of the people.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)76-92
    Number of pages17
    JournalInternational Journal of Public Sector Management
    Volume10
    Issue number1-2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1997

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Geography, Planning and Development
    • Public Administration
    • Political Science and International Relations
    • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

    User-Defined Keywords

    • China
    • Cost control
    • Equity
    • Health care
    • Insurance

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