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Province plans huge health cover scheme

Guangdong will invest 42 billion yuan (HK$47.65 billion) to provide medical insurance to most of its population, the province's development and reform commission says.

In a draft document released for public consultation, the province said it aimed to provide medical insurance schemes to cover 95 per cent of its urban residents not covered by employers' schemes, and 98 per cent of rural residents.

It said the schemes also would cover retired people from bankrupt state enterprises, university students, vocational school students, private-sector employees and rural migrants holding steady jobs in cities.

Guangdong has been leading the way in many medical reforms because of its relatively strong financial position. Experiments to scrap the surcharge on medical fees by hospitals have been carried out in Shenzhen, Shaoguan and Zhanjiang .

The provincial government said it hoped to expand the experiments to more areas this year. The aim is to stop hospitals from relying on surcharges to cover operating losses.

Officials said the government would allow doctors to practise in more than one premises. Doctors often practise illegally in hospitals and make home visits to rich patients, and the reform aims to raise doctors' legal income to curb illegal practices such as demanding cash gifts from patients.

The government said it would also cap prices for most prescription drugs this year. It will also improve medical relief for those in need, such as childless elderly people, orphans and the homeless. It also pledged to build 76 county hospitals and set up clinics in all villages by 2011.

The central government's medical reform plan released in April requires provincial governments to devise their own plans to implement reform.

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