Abstract
China made significant progress in strengthening its primary healthcare system before 1978. In the 1960s and 1970s, China’s barefoot doctor system was acclaimed worldwide for providing widely accessible medical care for rural populations. This model became internationally renowned in primary healthcare development and served as the inspiration for the World Health Organization’s Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, which identified primary healthcare as the key to the attainment of the goal of health for all. In the early- to mid-1980’s, with the advent of post-Mao political and economic policies, the government’s subsidies for primary healthcare providers were substantially reduced. This contributed to higher medical cost burden on Chinese citizens and eroded their equal access to healthcare services. Although China’s 2009 healthcare reform initiative has expanded insurance coverage and strengthened the infrastructure of primary healthcare, the government still faces challenges in transforming from a profit-driven, hospital-centered system to a comprehensive, primary care focused one that delivers high-quality, efficient healthcare that meets citizens’ healthcare needs. This study examines the history and development of the Chinese healthcare system and the role of health governance in China from the 1940s to the present. Several major phases in the development of primary healthcare and the broader healthcare system in the past century under both Nationalist and Communist regimes are addressed. The objectives of this study are to explore the broader social and political factors driving health system development and how this development created a foundation for more recent efforts to modernize the Chinese healthcare system.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus—Advancing Health and Equity: Best Practices in an International Perspective
KEYWORDS
Health Policy, Health Politics, Primary Healthcare
