According to information released at the ongoing 4th session of the Ninth Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the medical insurance system excludes minors and infants, in particular those suffering from congenital diseases, posing a serious problem for the southwest China province.

Luo Xiaoyun, a member of the CPPCC Guizhou Provincial Committee and doctor with the Guiyang Medical University Hospital, strongly suggested that a fund be created to pay for these children's medical treatment.

However, the problem is not peculiar to Guizhou. A comprehensive medical insurance scheme for children is not available in many parts of China.

Further, commercial insurance systems generally exclude children with malignant tumors, kidney disease, blood disease such as thalassemia, mental disease and congenital heart disease from coverage.

This puts a major financial strain on parents and guardians, particularly those living in poverty. Leukemia, for example, affects about 20,000 children every year in China. But only 10 percent of them receive medical treatment because of the prohibitively high costs of treatment.

Luo added that some more fortunate children might have their treatment paid for with donations, but relying solely on the compassion of others without any proper funding framework is far too risky.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, January 20, 2006)