Striving for the health of 1.4 billion people

The world's largest medical insurance network now covers more than 95 percent of the Chinese population, giving them access to basic health services from birth to the day they leave the world.[Photo/Xinhua]

Tan Ruicheng from Shannxi only had to spend 500 yuan (about $76) on cerebral ischemia treatment as his medical insurance covered the remaining 2,000 yuan, a huge saving for the rural resident.

The world's largest medical insurance network now covers more than 95 percent of the Chinese population, giving them access to basic health services from birth to the day they leave the world.

As more and more medical costs are reimbursed, overall expenditure on health care in 2015 was at its lowest level in two decades, in terms of the percentage of the country's total medical spending.

The medical care reform that China is undertaking is the largest in history, and it has expanded average life expectancy and decreased infant mortality, according to Bernhard Schwartlander, World Health Organization China representative.

As most Chinese have become better-off, they have become more health conscious, as such the leadership is taking it very seriously.