Better service and higher price in commercial hospitals

Being the first group of commercial hospitals in this capital city of China, the eight can both decide how to serve patients and fix medical service prices, according to regulations drawn up by the Beijing Municipal Public Health Bureau (BMPHB).

The commercial hospitals will offer more comprehensive and considerate services than the government-run ones, including free consultation and follow-up medical treatment, according to a doctor at one of the eight hospitals. As a result, the service prices will become much higher.

Patients of the eight hospitals have to pay their medical bills themselves even if they have medical insurance for government-run hospitals.

Non-profit hospitals

Beijing has some 80 government-run hospitals that enjoy government subsidies. The medical service prices of such hospitals, which provide basic medical treatment, are also decided by the government.

Government-run hospitals will continue their dominant position in Beijing's hospital system, and sustain the duty of offering basic medical treatment services to the masses, said Jin Dapeng, deputy director of the BMPHB.

Chinese Hospitals to Be Divided into Commercial and Non-profit

China's public health authorities have given the green light to commercial hospitals as part of the country's new medical care system, which is undergoing drastic reform.

Hospitals should be separated into two categories - commercial and non-profit - to satisfy the varying demands for medical services, an official with the Ministry of Health.

Non-profit hospitals are mainly run by local governments, enterprises, communities and non-governmental organizations, and should guarantee basic medical care for the public, putting any profits into improving medical equipment and introducing new technology. These hospitals enjoy preferential tax treatment and financial allocations.

Commercial hospitals will have the freedom to decide their own fees, but will have to pay taxes according to regulations, said Wu Mingjiang, director of the MOH's Department of Medical Administration.

( People's Daily December 31, 2001)