Circular on Issuing the Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable, Healthy and Regulated Development of Privately-run Medical Institutions

Circular on Issuing the Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable, Healthy and Regulated Development of Privately-run Medical Institutions
Circular on Issuing the Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable, Healthy and Regulated Development of Privately-run Medical Institutions

Guo Wei Yi Fa [2019] No. 42

June 10, 2019

People's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and ministries and commissions as well as institutions directly under the State Council,

Upon the approval of the State Council, the Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable, Healthy and Regulated Development of Privately-run Medical Institutions are hereby issued to you for your conscientious implementation thereof.

Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable, Healthy and Regulated Development of Privately-run Medical Institutions

Privately-run medical institutions are an important and integral part of China's medical and health service system, and an important force to meet the needs of different groups for medical and health services and to provide more medical services to the whole of society. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the development of privately-run medical institutions, and have introduced a series of policies and measures in recent years to continuously deepen the reform, improve the environment for running medical institutions, and achieved positive results. However, there are still problems such as inadequate implementation of policies, to-be-improved supervision and low-level overall social trust. Upon the consent of the State Council, the following opinions are hereby put forward with a view to deepening the reform of delegating power, improving regulation and upgrading services, promoting various regulations and practices including that all sectors not restricted by the list are accessible, every requirement for government approval that should be canceled will be canceled and it is required to do away with those impeding fair competition, solving key and difficult problems, and further promoting the sustainable, healthy and regulated development of privately-run medical institutions.

I. Increase Government Support for Privately-run Medical Institutions
1. Expand the space for privately-run medical institutions. We shall implement the medical service system planning requirements for the 13th Five-Year Plan period, strictly control the quantity and scale of public hospitals, and leave adequate room for the development of privately-run medical institutions. When adding or adjusting medical and health resources, all localities shall give priority to the relevant medical institutions to be established or operated by social forces. With respect to non-profit medical institutions established by social forces in areas with poor medical resources and fields with a shortage of such specialties as rehabilitation, nursing and mental health, local governments may provide venues or rent subsidies along with other support policies equivalent to those provided for public medical institutions. We shall standardize and guide social forces to establish medical institutions such as rehabilitation medical centers, nursing centers, physical examination centers, ophthalmic hospitals, women's and children's hospitals, as well as independently set up medical institutions of chain and group operation such as medical testing laboratories, pathological diagnosis centers, medical imaging centers and hemodialysis centers, strengthen standardized management and quality control, and improve the level of homogenization. (The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the National Health Commission and other relevant departments shall be responsible for the implementation thereof in collaboration with various localities.)
2. Expand land supply. When arranging the plan for the annual supply of state-owned construction land, in the case of insufficient local medical facilities, each locality shall implement and prioritize the guarantee of medical and health land in its land supply plan. Social forces may obtain the right to use medical and health land by means of government allotment, transfer or lease upon agreement, etc., and new medical and health land may be supplied upon agreement in accordance with the law in the case of only one intentional land user within the reasonable time limit for public disclosure of the transfer information thereof. Upon the consent of all legal rights holders and other property owners of relevant land and houses, where any idle building for commercial, office, industrial or other purpose is used for the establishment of a medical institution after necessary renovation, the transitional policies may apply, and within five years, the land shall continue to be used as per the original purpose and type of rights, except where it is prohibited to change the land purpose or in the case of change of land purpose, the land use right shall be withdrawn by the government as stipulated in the original contract for paid land use or provided in the written decision on allocation. (The Ministry of Natural Resources, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other relevant departments shall be responsible for the implementation thereof in collaboration with various localities.)
3. Promote the government procurement of services. We shall innovate the modes for the government to provide public health services and further increase the government procurement of services. All localities shall, prior to the end of 2019, formulate implementing measures for the government procurement of medical and health services, and define such detailed rules on the entity, content, modes, procedures, supervision and management in terms of the procurement of services. We shall, in line with the principle of fair competition and selection, support the procurement of services from privately-run medical institutions at the primary level to provide community residents with contractual family doctors and related public health services, and facilitate residents by providing services such as elderly care, home sickbeds, and door-to-door diagnosis and treatment. (The National Health Commission, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments shall be responsible for the implementation thereof in collaboration with various localities.)
4. Implement preferential tax policies. For-profit privately-run medical institutions, including small medical institutions such as clinics, may enjoy preferential tax policies for small and micro enterprises in accordance with relevant regulations.
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