(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-18 14:30

Guangdong Province is to introduce a pilot universal medical care system this September, catering to 11.6 million people in six cities, including Zhanjiang, Jieyang, Meizhou, Shaoguan, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing.

Under the pilot system, residents will be subsidized 35 yuan by provincial and 15 yuan by municipal governments, and will only have to pay a premium of 50 yuan, 70 yuan, and 130 yuan for a corresponding insured maximum amount of 10,000 yuan, 20,000 yuan, and 30,000 yuan.

Among Guangdong's 93 million population, 50 million are cared for by newly introduced rural cooperative medical care, while another 25 million are covered by urban basic medical insurance, but 17 million people are not protected by insurance of any kind. The new system is intended to solve the problem and pilot the new universal medical care mechanism.

The new system attaches greater significance to community medical service centers, which were previously criticized for lacking proficiency and equipment and also for non-reimbursable bills. Community medical centers are expected to play a more important role in the system by improving medical facilities, employing skilled doctors, and trimming redundant staff.