China's 2009 health reform: What implications could be drawn for the NHS Foundation Trusts reform?

Abstract

China's market-oriented health reforms since the early 1980s created a range of problems in its healthcare system. By mid-2000 healthcare costs had increased to a level which was too expensive even for average income families without any form of healthcare subsidy. On realising the severity of health related problems, China's central government launched its large-scale, expensive health reform in April 2009, intending to re-establish the universal healthcare system which would provide affordable basic health care to everyone in the country.Using unformatted, in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders of health care in China, this study aimed to provide the latest research-based evidence about access to health care for ordinary citizens in China two years into the April 2009 health reform. It aimed to find out what implications could be drawn for the English NHS (National Health Service) Foundation Trusts reform pursued by the UK Coalition Government from China's experience of health reforms.The study provided evidence that, two years into the April 2009 health reform, there was a newly re-established, public health insurance based healthcare system in China. The new system was providing affordable basic health care to even the most remote and poorest of our participants who were among the most remote and poorest in China in July–August 2011. Given the geographical and population size of China, this is an enormous achievement.The Chinese experience implies that if there is no effective and powerful regulatory system, the UK Coalition Government's policy to abolish the arbitrary private patient income cap on the amount of income NHS Foundation Trusts may earn from privately funded patients could have some negative impacts, for instance, on tackling health inequalities and ensuring good provider behaviour.