CRI英语听力2013年02月（WORD文本）：MINISTER-INTERPRETS-CHINAS-HEALTHCARE-REFORM_65.doc

1、Chinas Health Minister, Chen Zhu, has been praising the countrys medical reform in the past years, but also says there are more challenges and objectives to be met in the following years.CRIs Alex Blucher brings more details. After three years of reform, the Health Minister says basic medical securi

2、ty network now covers 1.3 billion people - thats over 95 percent of the total population.At the same time, the out of pocket health expenditure is also said to have fallen from 40 to 35 percent, while average life expectancy has now risen to nearly 75.In the past, Chinas healthcare used to be plague

3、d by high costs and uneven access, with around 70 percent of the countrys resources located in large cities.Health insurance to the nations vast rural areas was also previously neglected.In 2009, the Chinese government began a three-year healthcare reform program designed to provide across-the-board

4、 healthcare services.China has now set the goal of providing universal health care to every resident, in both rural and urban areas by the year 2020.Chen Zhu has also talked about the most urgent task facing Chinas healthcare reform.One is to promote the co-ordination among medical hygiene system, h

5、ealth insurance system and medicine market circulation, as well as the reform of public hospitals. The other is sticking to the prevention first policy. He also says the biggest hurdle for the health care is the reform of public hospitals, especially those at secondary and county-level hospitals.70

6、percent of Chinese hospitals are publicly owned.However, low government investment has given rise to accusations of over treatment and doctors making a living on prescribing medicine.Chen Zhu says public hospitals should behave like providers of public goods, but not managers.Looking forward, he als

7、o spoke about the challenges still ahead.Healthcare undertakings are still falling far short of the publics demands for healthcare. The primary level healthcare capability still needs to be strengthened.County hospitals directly serve over 900 million Chinese. Rural patients, however, tend to flood

8、into major hospitals in cities to seek better quality services.China has managed to develop county-level hospitals to help reduce the pressure on hospitals in the cities.The latest five-year plan for medical and health service, aims for 90 percent of common and serious diseases to be treated in county-level hospitals.Meanwhile, Chinas efforts in the healthcare reform have also won the acknowledgement of the World Health Organization.For CRI, this is Alex Blucher.