Challenges Facing the Chinese Health Care System

Abstract

The purposes of this article are to explore the challenges the Chinese health care system will be facing in the next decade. The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) having infected more than 90 000 persons in China (Source: World Health Organization, WHO Coronavirus Disease Dashboard) again reveals the weaknesses of the fragmental health care system. Over the past 3 decades, increasing out-of-pocket spending on health care, increasing mortality rate of chronic disease, growing disparities between rural and urban populations, the defectiveness of disease surveillance system, and disease outbreak response system have been pressing Chinese authorities for action. As this country has experienced an unprecedented economic growth along with an unparalleled development of health care system in the past 3 decades, the challenges ahead are unavoidably numerous and complex.

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“…5 For instance, the decentralization of the health care system has resulted in weak horizontal communication, whereas vertical control has led to unsatisfying performance of health care service providers in China. 6 Also, people who need health care service in high poverty ratio are likely to encounter the crowding-out effect in which they might be denied their right to be served. 7 Efforts to enhance the quality of health care delivery require collective input and co-operation of a broad constituency of stakeholders, for example, patients, caregivers, clinicians and professional associations, hospital systems, government agencies, policymakers, researchers, and industry.…”

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“…Since then, the health insurance coverage rate increased to over 90%, which makes this country with a population of 1.4 billion a universal health insurance coverage country [ 1 , 2 ]. Although from 2000 to 2016, total health expenditure increased nearly 10 times and governments at all levels have begun investing, Chinese health care system still received less satisfaction from all stakeholders and need further reform [ 3 ]. Meanwhile, it also raised concerns about China’s health care system’s economic sustainability.…”