Reporter: At a hospital in Chun'an county, Zhejiang, local farmer Pan Tongying and her two-year-old daughter wait for an appointment. With lovely ruddy cheeks, the little girl looks rather cheerful. Pan Tongying tells us she brought her daughter here for a regular check-up. A medical service voucher allows the check-up to be conducted free of charge. The voucher Pan Tongying mentioned is one of a series of measures the local government has taken to improve medical services for farmers. With the voucher, farmers can receive various basic medical services such as check-ups and vaccinations for free. "It's almost the fifth check-up for my daughter. Thanks to the free medical service, we are well served by community doctors. I myself have also received prenatal and postnatal check-ups, too." Pan Tongying's home Wenchang town is located only 180 kilometers from Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang. However, compared to Hangzhou, Wenchang county is rather underdeveloped . Of its population of 400 thousand, 89 percent make a living off the land. As China establishes a new medical care system featuring wider coverage and relatively lower benefits, farmers' lives have seen tangible improvements. Back in 2002, a minimum living standard security system was established in Zhejiang for both the rural and urban poor. For the first time, farmer's health was accounted for in government's care system. In 2003, a rural cooperative medical system was introduced, under which the central and local governments subsidized rural medical insurance proportionately. Following that, at the end of 2005, a system of free medical services, favoring farmers in particular, was established. The system fulfills the government's ambition to remedy the decades-old problems of inconvenient-and-out-of-reach medical services for farmers. Chun'an county was chosen as one of the experimental units for the free medical services. Every rural family there has received a medical service voucher. On the voucher card, five free service items are clearly printed, including vaccinations, prenatal check-ups, postnatal visits, medical records and regular check-ups for children under three. Before, a check-up for children cost eight yuan, or about one US dollar. Prenatal check-ups and postnatal visits cost six yuan, or 75 US cents, each. Thanks to the voucher, the services are now free. About 200 thousand households have received the free medical service vouchers and have taken advantage of the equivalent of 185 thousand yuan, or over 23 thousand US dollars' worth of services. Since the voucher can be used at any hospital, the choices made by farmers are used as a key criterion in performance evaluations for medical workers. The director of the public health bureau of Chun'an points out the advantages of introducing medical services to communities. "First, it can meet farmers' urgent medical demands. The new system is innovative and a vast improvement over the long-standing-but-ineffective provision of medical services. Previously, the government invested in staffing, but now we directly buy services. To keep their posts, medical workers have to try their best to provide high-quality services." By the end of 2005, up to 99.5 percent of locals received vaccinations. And 97 percent of pregnant women and 98.5 percent of children under three were included in the system of healthcare management. The free service voucher played a key role in fulfilling these goals. The government has also assigned every community of between a thousand and fifteen hundred people a doctor who is placed in charge of the farmers' all-round medical care. There are now over 26 thousand such community doctors providing services in Zhejiang. Forty-seven-year-old Dr. Chen Xingqing is an in-charge doctor at the medical care center of Zhangjiadai village. His work has greatly changed since free medical services were introduced. Instead of waiting in a tidy office as before, he now always visits farmers' homes to extend his help. Dr. Chen Xingqing tells us more. "As an in-charge doctor, I pay regular visits to farmers. For example, I have to pay at least two visits for each chronic patient every month. Basically, I take blood pressure, check heart rates and answer farmer's inquiries. In addition, I give practical lectures, either about disease prevention, treatment, or exercise. Of course, these services are warmly welcomed." Having a regular staff of four in-charge doctors, the medical care center Dr. Chen Xingqing serves is responsible for patients in four villages. The in-charge doctor is responsible for the medical care of each villager, as well as keeping a detailed medical record for each family. Through the doctor's regular visits, the health conditions of local farmers have improved. Previously, due to the lack of basic health knowledge and fear of unaffordable medical costs, farmers used to bear their discomforts or pains, often until the point where it was too late for effective treatment. However, farmers can now make inquiries and receive treatment more easily from a friendly and considerate community doctor.
Once, a young woman mistook her swollen belly for a pregnancy. The doctor strongly advised her to undergo a thorough check-up. It turned out it was a hysteromyoma, a benign tumor in her uterus. By detecting the condition quickly, she was able to receive treatment at an early stage. Xu Runlong, an official from the health bureau of Zhejiang, tells us that community medical service plays an important role in meeting farmers' medical demands and balancing the development between urban and rural areas, and in building a harmonious society. "Pioneering medical services in China, Zhejiang introduced the community medical service system to rural areas at the same time as urban areas. You know, since disease prevention is the emphasis of public health work, our work stresses health education. We aim to prevent disease and to detect any potential malady in a timely manner. Of course, the community has provided a perfect platform." Their aims have been achieved. Villagers tell us sometimes they can't believe they have come in contact with something so wonderful. Sheng Xinlian, one villager, has this to say. "The free services are quite helpful. We appreciate the care and concern from the government and the Communist Party." Since 2005, Zhejiang has invested 1.7 billion yuan, or more than 200 million US dollars, in medical services annually. Xu Runlong believes it's a basic service farmers should have. "While cutting-edge medical services can be commercialized, public health services are a basic welfare for people and they should be provided by the government. It's just the beginning." A professional tells us if we broadly understand the definition of public health, various fields and services can be included in the system. He believes that, as the country's economy grows, farmers will enjoy improved health conditions through improved medical services. Backanchor: That was Ning Yan, introducing us to a new community medical service in Zhejiang to help patients with financial difficulties. China Horizons is coming back soon. | 
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