CRI听力： Henan Strengthens New Rural Cooperative Medical Care System

Central China's Henan Province is one of the country's most important agricultural areas and has an agrarian population of more than 70 million. It accounts for 70 percent of the province's total population.

Because the average income of farmers here is much lower than that of residents in urban areas, the farmers cannot afford medical care, especially operations for serious diseases. But the government's new rural cooperative medical care system is now lightening their financial burden. CRI's Wu Peng reports.

Liu Rui is a 42-year-old farmer in Henan Province, who recently had a heart surgery. Under the government's a new rural cooperative medical services, she has to pay only a small portion of the 40,000 yuan, or 5,600 U.S. dollar, cost of the operation. This makes Liu very happy.

"The system is good. I couldn't survive if there were no such policy. I've got heart disease, and the operation costs several thousand yuan. The rural cooperative medical service office sent me more than 20,000 yuan, and the township government and local civil affairs department also sent money to me. I just spent a small amount of my own money, about 4,000 or 5,000 yuan."

The government began the rural cooperative medical system on a trial basis in some provinces in 2003. More than 720 million farmers have participated in the system. It now covers more than 85 percent of the counties throughout the country.

Under the system, a farmer puts 10 yuan, or 1.25 U.S. dollars, a year into a personal medical care account. The government adds another 40 yuan, or five U.S. dollars. The government will pay a maximum of 65 percent of any medical charges incurred each year.

Henan is one of the first trial provinces to participate in the rural cooperative medical system. So far, 6.9 million participants have received refunds.

Qing Xing is the Deputy Director of the Health Department of Henan.

"The number of cities and counties that have launched the new system has hit 143. The 14 counties that haven't launched the system will start it this year. By that time, the medical system will cover the whole province ahead of schedule."

Henan Province has been developing a Web-based information platform for the medical system to ensure that farmers can see a doctor and receive refunds promptly.

Officials say the platform, which will enable patients to receive refunds through the Internet, will go live this year.

Meanwhile, the province also has established a rural medical care aid system to help poor people and a special fund to make improvements to hospitals.

Wu Peng, CRI news