A healthy course of action

According to guidelines issued by the State Council on Monday, the country will strive to set up a national health service system, spanning cradle to grave, and lift the value of the sector to more than 8 trillion yuan ($1.31 trillion) by 2020.

To facilitate the plan's fulfillment, the government has vowed to relax market access for non-governmental investment and extend non-profit private medical institutions the same treatment as that given to public medical service providers. At the same time, the approval procedures for the establishment of rehabilitation centers, hospitals and nursing homes will be simplified.

The government will also encourage commercial insurance companies to diversify health insurance products to cover more people, and support cooperation between medical institutions and nursing homes to provide elderly patients suffering from chronic diseases with community-based treatment and services.