(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-04 20:20

Participants can get partial reimbursement (55 to 65 percent) for hospital expenses. Rates vary according to the illness and the hospital charges.

The rural scheme covered 730 million farmers, or 86 percent of the total, as of the end of September and is anticipated to cover all rural residents this year, Vice Premier Wu Yi told a national conference in mid-February.

The fund paid out about 59.1 billion yuan over the past five years in reimbursements for 920 million claims, according to the health ministry.

However, poorly-equipped clinics and a shortage of medical staff have restricted the quality and availability of care for farmers.

Hou Lu, a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top advisory body, will hand in a proposal at the ongoing conference urging more investment in village hospitals and higher salaries for grassroots medical staff.

"First we build the temple, then we invite the gods," said Wang Jinshan, Party chief of Anhui province on Saturday.

The province will earmark funds in its 11th five-year plan (2006-2010) to build 1,230 standardized town hospitals and 10,000 village clinics to provide more service for farmers and ease pressure on urban hospitals.

To improve the medical skills of town and village doctors, the province will choose 1,000 experienced doctors annually from city hospitals to work in grassroots hospitals to train rural doctors. The same number of local doctors will go to top city hospitals for training, Wang said.

"I'm confident that our life will be better as the government has been giving us more care," said Tao Jihe.

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