Farmers of east China's Jiangxi province have benefited from the rural cooperative medical system, and highly praised the new mechanism, said an official with the province department of health.

So far the medical system, which is still in its pilot period, has paid 9.37 million yuan (1.13 million US dollars) worth of medical expenses for over 320,000 farmers, among whom 42 people with serious illness received over 10,000 yuan (1209 US dollars), the official said.

The new medical system is co-funded by subsidies from central, provincial, municipal and county governments and by farmers themselves. The farmers only have to pay 10 yuan (1.2 US dollars) each year and the state will shoulder 20 to 70 percent of their medical expenses.

Luo Xiaoling, a villager of Jiangxi's Chongyi county, said thather daughter suffered from congenital heart disease, and in the past 10 years she had not received any form of treatment because she had no money.

However, the family joined the rural cooperative medical systemlast October and took the daughter to receive the operation in Beijing. They paid 30 yuan (3.6 US dollars) and in return the local government reimbursed them over 10,000 yuan (1209 US dollars).

Jiangxi will go on popularizing the medical system within the province this year, and the system will cover 80 percent of Jiangxi's rural population in 2010, according to the official.
 
(People's Daily February 16, 2004)