China is working on county-level public hospital reforms through October, with hospitals in 100 cities expected to be completed by the end of December, according to a National Health and Family Planning Commission report at a press conference, on Aug 6.

Fu Wei, the current deputy director-general of the Commission’s Healthcare Reform, 1,463 counties across China have started the reforms at 3,297 public hospitals, and a pilot reform in 100 cities has seen 61 of them starting the reforms at 764 hospitals.

As a part of this, 3,077 county hospitals and 446 urban ones have abolished the system of selling drugs at higher than wholesale price, and 224 cities across China have adjusted their costs.

Fu said that these public hospital reform will be a part of the local government’s performance appraisal, and that Commission leaders will take in charge provincial healthcare reforms.

At the same time at the conference, Yu Dezhi, director of Anhui province’s health and family planning commission and Huang Zuhu, vice-director of Jiangsu province’s explained their respective health reform improvements