China to curb rapidly rising medical expenses

Beijing: China has issued guidelines for curbing rapidly rising medical expenditures in the country’s public hospital system, the media reported on Saturday. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), the guideline issued on Friday urged local authorities to closely monitor the rise of medical costs at public hospitals in their jurisdiction, particularly the cost of medicine, medical consumables and large-scale medical examinations, and to publicise the surveillance results regularly, China.org reported. The guidance also set a two-phase target that by 2016 the rise of expenses will slow, and by the end of 2017 insured patients will see the share of out-of-pocket spending in their total medical bill decreasing gradually. The NHFPC said it is time the country put forward a national level guidance on medical expense control so as to relieve financial burdens of the public and ensure the sustainable use of the medical insurance fund.