The Social Face of Economic Growth
China's Health System in Transition
- Christina S. Ho, JD, MPP;
- Lawrence O. Gostin, JD
- Author Affiliations: O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Even as Congress prepares to debate President Obama's health reform agenda, the People's Republic of China has passed its own long-awaited health reform plan,1 setting aside $124 billion for this purpose over the next 3 years.2 This ambitious reform, issued by the State Council and the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at the beginning of April 2009, would overhaul the health system, providing citizens with improved service quality, greater accessibility, lower cost burdens, and the guarantee of universal health coverage.
China's much-noted economic trajectory over the past decades has lifted 400 million individuals out of poverty and contributed to what a former World Bank president called “the greatest increase in wealth for the largest number of people in the shortest time in the history of mankind.”3 China is now the world's third largest economic power, and its spending decisions could help determine the course of …
