China to take further steps to ensure people's basic welfare

China's State Council on Wednesday called for enhanced efforts to ensure that people's basic needs are met.

The Chinese government will deepen the integration of medical and elderly care. [File photo: VCG]

Further steps will be taken to ensure stable employment, stable pork supply and prices, and full and timely payment of aged-care pensions, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

The government will enhance support for private actors to invest in improving inclusive and high-quality education, medical care, old-age care and childcare services.

The meeting decided that outpatient medicines for treating high blood pressure and diabetes included in the national basic medical insurance catalog would be made reimbursable under the medical insurance scheme, with the reimbursement rate lifted to over 50 percent.

The move is expected to reduce medical costs for over 300 million patients under the country's basic medical insurance programs.

Efforts will also be made to improve the quality and reduce the prices of domestically-made medicines for treating high blood pressure and diabetes.

The government will streamline approval, improve the pricing mechanism, offer taxation and land use policy support and develop specific insurance products for medical and old-age care integration, according to the statement.