Question

Explain Chinas healthcare demographics, current political/social environment, and health care system info.

Answer 1

Health Care and Demographic in China

Healthcare in China consists of both public and private medical institutions and insurance programs. About 95% of the population has at least basic health insurance coverage. Despite this, public health insurance generally only covers about half of medical costs, with the proportion lower for serious or chronic illnesses. Under the "Healthy China 2020" initiative, China is currently undertaking an effort to cut healthcare costs, and the government requires that insurance will cover 70% of costs by the end of 2018. The Chinese government is working on providing affordable basic healthcare to all residents by 2020. China has also become a major market for health-related multinational companies. Companies such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, and Merck entered the Chinese market and have experienced explosive growth. China has also become a growing hub for health care research and development

China Health Care demographics as per WHO

Total population (2016)	1,411,415,000
Gross national income per capita (PPP international $, 2013)	11,850
Life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2016)	75/78
Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births, 2017)	9
Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population, 2016)	93/67
Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2014)	731
Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2014)	5.5

current Health care system in China

All major cities have hospitals specializing in different fields, and are equipped with some modern facilities. Residents of urban areas are not provided with free healthcare, and must either pay for treatment or purchase health insurance. The quality of hospitals varies. The best medical care in China is available in foreign-run or joint venture Western-style medical facilities with international staff available in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and a few other large cities. They are highly expensive; treatment there can often cost up to ten times more than a public hospital.

Public hospitals and clinics are available in all Chinese cities. Their quality varies by location; the best treatment can usually be found in public city-level hospitals, followed by smaller district-level clinics. Many public hospitals in major cities have so-called V.I.P. wards or gaogan bingfang. These feature reasonably up-to-date medical technology and skilled staff. Most V.I.P. wards also provide medical services to foreigners and have English-speaking doctors and nurses. V.I.P. wards typically charge higher prices than other hospital facilities, but are still often cheap by Western standards. In addition to medical facilities providing modern care, traditional Chinese medicine is also widely used, and there are Chinese medicine hospitals and treatment facilities located throughout the country. Dental care, cosmetic surgery, and other health-related services at Western standards are widely available in urban areas, though costs vary.

Historically, in rural areas, most healthcare was available in clinics providing rudimentary care, with poorly trained medical personnel and little medical equipment or medications, though certain rural areas had far higher-quality medical care than others. However, the quality of rural health services has improved dramatically since 2009. In an increasing trend, healthcare for residents of rural areas unable to travel long distances to reach an urban hospital is provided by family doctors who travel to the homes of patients, which is covered by the government.

Reform of the health delivery system in urban areas of China has prompted concerns about the demand and utilization of Community Health Services Centres; a 2012 study, however, found that insured patients are less likely to use private clinics and more likely to use the centres.

A cross-sectional study between 2003 and 2011 showed remarkable increases in health insurance coverage and inpatient reimbursement were accompanied by increased use and coverage. The increases in services use are particularly important in rural areas and at hospitals. Major advances have been made in achieving equal access to insurance coverage, inpatient reimbursement, and basic health services, most notably for hospital delivery, and use of outpatient and inpatient care.

Nowadays, with substantial urbanisation, attention on health care has been changed. Urbanisation offers opportunities for improvements in population health in China (such as access to improved health care and basic infrastructure) and substantial health risks including air pollution, occupational and traffic hazards, and the risks conferred by changing diets and activity. Communicable infections should also be re-focused on

Current Political/Social environment in China

The politics of the People's Republic of China takes place in a framework of a socialist republic run by a single party, the Communist Party of China, headed by General Secretary. State power within the People's Republic of China (PRC) is exercised through the Communist Party, the Central People's Government (State Council) and their provincial and local representation. The state uses Internal Reference , secret documents produced by Xinhua News Agency, similar to US' President's Daily Brief, though delivered to most of its officials according to level of secrecy of the information, a major source of information of the society.

The President of China is the head of state, serving as the ceremonial figurehead under National People's Congress. The Premier of China is the head of government, presiding over the State Council composed of four vice premiers and the heads of ministries and commissions. As a one-party state, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China holds ultimate power and authority over state and government.The offices of President, General Secretary, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission have been held simultaneously by one individual since 1993, granting the individual de jure and de facto power over the country.

Central government leaders must, in practice, build consensus for new policies among party members, local and regional leaders, influential non-party members, and the population at large. However, control is often maintained over the larger group through control of information. The Chinese Communist Party considers China to be in the initial stages of socialism. Many Chinese and foreign observers see the PRC as in transition from a system of public ownership to one in which private ownership plays an increasingly important role. Privatization of housing and increasing freedom to make choices about education and employment severely weakened the work unit system that was once the basic cell of Communist Party control over society. China's vast social, cultural and economic diversity has led to heterogeneity in the policies applied at the local and regional level.

The social, cultural, and political as well as economic consequences of market reform have created tensions in Chinese society. Some Chinese scholars such as Zhou Tianyong, the vice director of research of the Central Party School, argue that gradual political reform, as well as repression of those pushing for overly rapid change over the next twenty years, will be essential if China is to avoid an overly turbulent transition to a middle class dominated polity.Some Chinese look back to the Cultural Revolution and fear chaos if the Communist Party should lose control due to domestic upheavals and so a robust system of monitoring and control is in place to counter the growing pressure for political change.