Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Health Reform and Development
Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Health Reform and Development
Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Health Reform and Development
Zhong Fa [1997] No.3
January 15, 1997
That everyone enjoys health care and the continuous improvement in the quality of health of the whole nation constitute an important objective of socialist modernization, an important hallmark of the improvement in the quality of people's life, an important content of socialist spiritual civilization and an important guarantee of sustainable socio-economic development. The whole party and the whole society should pay great attention to the cause of public health, protect and promote people's health.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and especially since the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up, great advancements have been made in the cause of public health in our country and achievements scored which have attracted worldwide attention. Public health ranks on a considerable scale has been formed, public health service system has basically taken shape and scientific and technical standards of public health have witnessed rapid improvement. There has been marked improvement in the production and supply of medicine and the cause of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology has been inherited and expanded. Public health reform has achieved results and has been gradually deepening and legislation continuously stepped up. With the in-depth unfolding of the patriotic public health movement, some diseases which seriously endanger people's health are under control or have been basically eradicated. The standards of people's health have been markedly raised with average life expectancy raised to 70 years from 35 years before the founding of the People's Republic and infant mortality reduced to 31.4%. from 200%.. In the past four decades or more, public health work has played an important role in promoting the development of socialist modernization of our country and the broad masses of public health workers have made major contributions in the protection and promotion of people's health. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the growth of the cause of public health at present cannot yet keep up with the requirement of economic construction and social progress, regional imbalances exist in the development of public health work, there are weak links in rural public health, prevention and health care, imperfection in medic are system, inadequacy in public health input, irrational resources allocation, excessive rise in medical cost, there are still inadequacies in public health service quality and attitude as desired by the people and public health work fail to win sufficient attention of the whole society. Party committees and governments at all levels should further step up their leader ship over public health work and public health reform needs urgent deepening.
In the next 15 years, public health work is entrusted with heavy tasks. With the development of the economy, scientific and technological advancement and improvement in the living standards of the people, they will have more and higher requirements in respect of improved health services and quality of life. With acceleration of the process of industrialization, urbanization and aging of the population, health problems connected with ecological environment and lifestyles will increasingly aggravate and rate of chronic non-infectious diseases will increase. A number of infectious diseases and endemic diseases still endanger people's health and some new infectious diseases pose a great threat to people's health. All this calls for a big development and improvement of the cause of public health in our country.
The period from the present to 2010 is an important one during which the past shall be inherited and the future ushered in, and the cause of the older generation carried forward and new ground broken in the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics. To put into practice the spirit of the Fifth and Sixth Plenary Sessions of the Fourteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and carry out the public health tasks put forth in the
I. The Objectives To Be Striven For And Guiding Thought In Public Health Work
1. The objectives to be striven for in public health work are as follows: with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics as guidance, adhering to the Party's basic line and policy and continuously deepening public health reform, by the year 2000, a preliminary public health system including health services, medic are security and public health law enforcement and supervision with Chinese characteristics shall be established, with basic realization of primary health care enjoyed by everyone and further improvement in health standards of its nationals. By 2010, a complete public health system catering for the requirements of the system of socialist market economy and people's health shall be established throughout the country, with main national health targets in economically developed regions reaching or being close to average standards of medium developed countries in the world and the less developed regions reaching the advanced standards of developing countries.
2. The policy of public health work in the new period is as follows: put the stress on the rural areas, put prevention first, pay equal attention to Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, rely on science and technology and education, mobilize the whole society to participate, render service for people's health and socialist modernization.
3. Public health work in our country is a non-profit social undertaking while the government pursues a certain welfare policy. The development of public health work must be in coordination with national socio-economic development, and the welfare level of security of people's health must correspond with the level of economic development. The government bears important responsibilities in the development of public health work. Governments at all levels should make efforts to increase public health input and mobilize various circles of the society in an extensive way to raise funds for the development of the cause of public health. Citizens themselves should also, step by step, increase their own input for medic are. By the end of the century, efforts will be made that total public health expenditure of the whole society shall be approximately 5% of gross domestic product.
4. Public health reform and development shall abide by the following basic principles:
Adhere to the aims and purposes of serving the people, correctly handle the relations between social benefit and economic performance and put social benefit first. The tendency of seeking lopsided economic benefit to the neglect of social benefit should be prevented.
Center round the improvement in the standards of people's health, give priority to the development and guarantee of basic health service, embody social fairness and satisfy step by step the diversified requirements of the masses of people.
Proceed from the state of the nation in the development of the cause of public health, allocate resources rationally and put the stress on the improvement in quality and efficiency. Put the stress on the strengthening of public health in the rural areas, prevention and health care and traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology. Narrow the gap between regions by giving guidance to different types of areas suiting local conditions.
Medical institutions run by the state and collectives shall constitute the main body while those run by other social institutions and individuals serve as a supplement.
Expand opening up to the outside world, promote international exchange and cooperation in the field of public health and actively make use of and draw on advanced foreign science and technology and expertise in management.
Adhere to the principle of grasping the two links of socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization and both should be tough. Strengthen the building of professional ethics in health service and raise continuously the ideological and moral quality and professional and technical levels of public health workers.
II. Actively Promote Public Health Reform
5. The aim of public health reform is to reinvigorate the cause of public health, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of public health institutions and public health workers, continuously improve the quality and efficiency of health service and serve the cause of people's health and socialist modernization in a better way. Adapt to the development of socialist market economy, abide by the inherent rules of the development of public health and establish step by step the new mechanism of strong macro regulation and control and vigorous micro operation.
6. Reform the medic are system for urban workers and staff members. Establish the medical insurance system based on the combination of unifiedly raised social medical funds and individual accounts, expand step by step its coverage and provide basic medic are for all urban workers. The level of medic are should correspond with the level of development of social productivity and the tolerance of the different sectors of society. The insurance cost shall be rationally borne by the state, the employer unit and the worker or staff member. Social medical insurance for workers and staff members shall practise dependency administration. Strengthen in real earnest administration and supervision of medical insurance fund. Establish the mechanism of checks on medical institutions and patients, actively explore scientific and rational mode of payment and effectively control the irrational growth of medical cost.
Medical institutions and medical personnel who play an important role in doing a good job of medic are system reform for workers and staff members should actively participate in the reform, treat patients according to their ailments, conduct rational examinations, prescribe medicine rationally so as to curb waste.
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