The General Office of the State Council has recently issued the Reform Plan for the Division of Fiscal Powers and Expenditure Duties Between Central and Local Governments in the Healthcare Sector (the "Plan"), with effect from January 1, 2019.
The Plan expressly states that fiscal powers and expenditure duties will be divided between central and local governments in the healthcare sector in four aspects, including the public health sector, medical insurance, family planning and capacity building. In particular, there are two aspects of medical insurance, namely the basic medical insurance subsidies for urban and rural residents and the medical assistance, and it is made clear that the central and local governments will work together in the said two aspects of medical insurance. In addition, the Plan notes that, with the focus on national or cross-regional public health services, the central government will have slightly heavier fiscal power and expenditure duties; where certain affairs are fiscally undertaken by both the central government and the local government, the central government will work out the national basic standards or raise the principles in a centralized manner; also, it is necessary to optimize and integrate projects as a whole and increase the use efficiency of fiscal funds. At the same time, the Plan distributes the Table on the Division of Fiscal Powers and Expenditure Duties Between the Central and Local Governments in the Healthcare Sector.