11. Health for All?—Debate on the New Round of Healthcare Reform in China

In 2003, professor WANG Shaoguang, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, wrote that the deterioration of China’s public health is “probably related mainly to the two blind faiths that are looming in our overall reform thinking”. One is the blind faith in economic growth, and the other, in the market. According to WANG, “In the 1990s, the market economy was established as the target of reform; medical and healthcare services were gradually pushed to the market.” The end result is that “China’s healthcare field is probably one of the most market-oriented in the world” (see Crises and Opportunities in China’s Public Health. Comparison, Issue No. 7 [2003])

In 2005, an SCDRC research task force led by GE Yanfeng published a special report. After eulogizing “the outstanding achievements in China’s medical and health service during the planned economy”, the report points out that “the basic direction of the medical and health system since the reform is commercialization and marketization”, its negative consequences are “the decline in the fairness of medical services and the low efficiency of health investment”, and that “The root of the problem is that commercialization and marketization go against the basic rules for healthcare development” (see Evaluation of and Suggestions for China’s Healthcare Reform (Summary and Key Points). China Development Review, Supplementary Issue No. 1 [2005]).

In the same year, Professor LI Ling at Peking University also published an article, repeating WANG and GE’s opinions without citation. LI’s explanations were exactly the same: “The main reasons are government negligence and market failure. The government had no clear direction or goal for healthcare development, but irresponsibly left the healthcare to the market (see China Should Adopt a Government-Led Medical System. China and World Affairs, Issue No. 1 [2005]).