Healthcare gets $124b for reform

The government will spend 850 billion yuan ($124.26 billion) in the next three years to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the country's 1.3 billion people.

The State Council yesterday approved the final draft of the long-awaited healthcare reform at its executive meting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. The aim of the reform is to make the government bear most of the medical expenses of the people by 2011.

"Primary healthcare and medical services will become accessible to more people (and) people's medical expenses will be visibly reduced," the draft plan says.