Director of the National Health Commission: Resolve the problem of long-term hospital debt steadily and optimize the fertility policy targeted.
Recently, the first issue of the “Party Building” magazine in 2025 published a signed article by Lei Chao, secretary of the Party Leadership Group and director of the National Health Commission.
The article mentioned that there are still some problems in the economic operation of hospitals in China. Some medical institutions are in debt, some price adjustments cannot adapt to the rapid changes in medical and health services, and a considerable proportion of medical personnel are not included in the establishment management. To address these issues, it is necessary to promote the digestion of existing establishment and dynamic increase, so that qualified, capable, and ethical medical professionals can gradually obtain establishment guarantees. Establish a medical service-led charging mechanism, timely reflect cost and technological changes, incorporate mature new technologies verified in clinical practice into the health insurance plan in a timely manner, evaluate regularly, adjust dynamically, and move forward steadily. Implement the “two allowances” policy (allowing medical and health institutions to exceed the current salary control level of public institutions and allowing medical service income to be used mainly for personnel rewards after deducting costs and extracting various funds as stipulated), dynamically narrow the income gap between medical institutions of different levels and positions, and reduce the proportion of performance-based pay to better reflect public welfare and promote balanced and coordinated development.
In addition, it is necessary to improve the health investment mechanism that is compatible with economic and social development, financial conditions, and health needs, and promote the implementation of government subsidy policies for public hospitals. Adhere to the principle of doing what one can both afford and what is within their ability to do so regarding providing policy arrangements for basic salaries of medical personnel especially in pediatrics, psychiatry, and traditional Chinese medicine. Provide subsidies for the operating funds of infectious disease hospitals, mental hospitals, occupational disease prevention and treatment hospitals, and resolve long-term debt issues in a stable manner. This includes covering expenses such as equipment purchases and nucleic acid testing during the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate the economic pressure on public hospitals.
Lei Chao also emphasized the importance of adhering to both development and regulation, strictly controlling the disorderly expansion of public hospitals. For large-scale construction projects, it is necessary to implement an upgraded approval system to enhance the rigidity of regional health planning implementation. There should be an orderly development of specialized medical care, guidance for the standardization of private hospitals, pilot promotion of high-level opening up in the medical field in key cities, and moderate development of Sino-foreign joint ventures or sole proprietorship hospitals to meet diverse healthcare needs of residents at different levels and adapt to the development of commercial health insurance. We should strengthen the normal governance of malpractices in the pharmaceutical field, consolidate a strict tone, measures, and atmosphere. We should also innovate supervision methods and utilize various means such as hospital inspections, flying inspections, abnormal cost case verifications, audits, statistics, and complaint handling to strengthen institutional supervision, behavioral supervision, functional supervision, through-and-through supervision, and continuous supervision. It is necessary to vigorously develop intelligent supervision to further improve supervision efficiency. We should constantly improve the fundamental strategy to eliminate the soil and conditions for corruption in the pharmaceutical field and provide safe, effective, convenient, and affordable medical and health services for the people.
Regarding population issues, the above article concludes by emphasizing the need to deeply understand the current situation of China’s population aging process with fewer births and regional differences in population growth and decline. It also discusses the background and inducements behind population decline. It is necessary to dynamically optimize and improve population fertility policies in a targeted manner by focusing on establishing correct views on marriage and childbirth, safeguarding reproductive rights, optimizing reproductive services, reducing costs related to childbirth, raising children’s education expenses, expanding inclusive childcare services, improving public services for women and children as well as safeguarding their legal rights. Active efforts should be made to build a friendly society for childbirth so that high-quality population development can support China’s modernization process.
