The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced yesterday that it will conduct a nationwide inspection on price cuts in 22 categories of drugs and medical institutions' service charges.

The cuts were aimed to prevent kickbacks and relieve high medical costs, key complaints of the Chinese people, said an NDRC official.

On September 28, the commission decided to lower the upper limit on the retail prices of 22 categories of medicines, and the new rules came into effect today.

The prices of more than 400 products are expected to fall an average of 40 percent, a move that Xinhua News Agency reported has the potential to save consumers about 4 billion yuan (US$494 million).

The NDRC said its inspection would be conducted among medicine producers and sellers, medical institutions, and disease prevention and control centers. When it would be carried out was not reported.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)