Reforms cut costs and improve services

Markups on drug prices have been abolished in the capital's hospitals as part of a series of measures to provide better, targeted treatment at lower prices. Wang Xiaodong reports.

Wu Weihong hasn't been affected by the medical reforms implemented in Beijing this month, but the new measures have had a big impact on his 61-year-old mother, who has regular treatment for chronic kidney disease.

Wu subscribes to Beijing's basic medical insurance program, which means most of his medical fees are reimbursed. However, his mother, a farmer in neighboring Hebei province, subscribes to a different program so she has to bear the entire cost herself.