Health Care Budgets of Poorer Regions
That said, the government is moving to increase coverage for various medical services and to improve access to care. It has established a national fund to supplement the health care budgets of poorer regions and an insurance program for childhood immunizations. Those who purchase this insurance for a small premium receive free immunization for children up to age seven and free treatment if a child develops one of the infectious diseases the immunization program is supposed to prevent. More than half of all children in the country belong to this program. Another program offers prenatal and postnatal care to women and infants. Finally, the country has moved in the last few years to merge its rural and urban health care systems, which should lead to more equitable access to needed care.
Health Outcomes Although China’s economy is developing rapidly, it still spends only around 5.2% of its GDP (around $733 per person) on health care, considerably less than that spent in the more developed nations. Nevertheless, as its economy has grown, its health outcomes have improved. Whereas in 1960 infant mortality was 150 deaths per 1000 and life expectancy was 47 years, currently infant mortality is 10 per 1000 and life expectancy is 77, only four years lower than in the United States. Although large and increasing differences in health status remain between rural and urban dwellers, China now stands on the cusp of the epidemiological transition, with chronic and degenerative diseases increasingly outpacing infec- tious diseases as the leading causes of death.
Nevertheless, some regions of China continue to face health problems that have long characterized the less developed nations such as insufficient access to clean drinking water. The rise of a market economy has contributed to these problems as pressure to develop profitable industries has increased water and air pollution and decreased occupational safety, especially in rural areas. Similarly, pressures on the health care system to control costs and generate profits has led to a decreased emphasis on preventive care and increased emphasis on profit-generating treatments and diagnostic procedures.