The eastern metropolis of Shanghai has vowed to provide better and more affordable medical services to its 3 million farmers in the coming three years.
By 2005, a minimum of 95 percent of farmers will benefit from a health insurance system, an official with the municipal government announced at a recent meeting on public health in Shanghai's rural areas.
Farmers are expected to pay 3 percent of their annual income in order to receive reimbursement for some of their medical bills each year and the local government will contribute certain amounts to each farmer in order to promote the health insurance system among farmers in the 10 rural counties and districts.
Meanwhile, the municipal government will set up special funds to cover the medical expenses of low-income farmers, said Vice Mayor Han Zheng.
Under the current system, a farmer in Shanghai receives reimbursement for 50 to 60 percent of his medical bills each year in exchange for an annual payment of 100 yuan. The maximum reimbursement is 50,000 yuan.
The system will remain the core of the future health insurance system in Shanghai, which will be subsidized by commercial insurance and mutual funds to provide financial aid to the farmers, said a public health official.
In addition, the municipal government has pledged to improve the rural medical service network in the coming two to three years by building more hospitals and training more general practitioners or the rural communities.
Since health insurance has not yet reached the majority of China's rural residents, heavy medical expenses are among Chinese farmers' most serious concerns, especially in impoverished areas.
(People's Daily January 18, 2003)
