China aims at poverty caused by medical bills

China is seeking a long-term mechanism to ensure the success of the nationwide poverty relief campaign and to prevent people from becoming impoverished by the high medical costs of major diseases.

China has 5.53 million households - 7.34 million people - stuck in poverty as a result of medical costs, according to data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Roughly 3.3 million have severe medical conditions, such as cancer, whose treatment is expensive.