Starting this year, nearly 220,000 civil servants and personnel at public institutions in Beijing are no longer entitled to publicly funded free medical care.

At present, 24 of 31 provinces, regions and municipalities, or 80 percent, have stopped providing free medical care for civil servants, instead bringing them into the health insurance system, People’s Daily reported Thursday.

The State Council, or China’s Cabinet, issued a decision in December 1998, requiring the launch of nationwide health insurance reform for urban employees, including civil servants.

Most interviewed civil servants approved such a reform, believing it can help avoid financial disaster.