Plan to tackle aging population by 2050

A medium-and long-term plan to tackle population aging has been issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, Xinhua News Agency reported on Nov 21.

Aging of the population will remain a basic condition for China for a long time to come, the plan said, and tackling it is necessary to achieve quality economic growth and an important step for maintaining national security and social stability.

The plan aims to come up with a mature system to tackle population aging by around 2050, and has laid out tasks in five areas.

The first is improving the national income distribution system and steadily increasing the financial resources reserved for elderly care. The country should also develop a social security system that is more fair and sustainable.

The second is to enlarge labor supply by improving the overall quality of the country's human resources. The measures include building a system of lifelong learning. The country should make better use of human resources, enhance the quality of jobs and expand employment.

The third is to provide quality services and products for elderly people. The country should set up a health service system for elderly people that covers health education, prevention, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice care.

The fourth is strengthening science and technology innovation. The plan calls for implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and making China's economy and industries more intelligent. Science and technology innovation should become the country's "primary driving force" to tackle population aging, the plan says.

The fifth is nurturing a social environment that ensures elderly people are respected and taken care of properly. The legal system should be improved to protect the lawful rights of seniors, among other measures.

Support for centralized medicine procurement

More medicines should be included in centralized procurement so they can be purchased in large quantities at lower prices, the State Council decided at an executive meeting on Nov 20.

Priority will be given to medicines whose original and generic brands are priced very differently, as well as medicines whose generic brands have passed quality evaluations.

The authorities should also ensure the supply and quality of medicines obtained through centralized procurement. They should establish emergency reserves of the medicines and a system to report the production capacity of medicine producers.

Spot checks on brands that have won bids should be strengthened, and there should be a system to trace medicines, among other measures.

The authorities should formulate and implement national regulations on the way hospitals prescribe and administer medicines, and encourage hospitals to use medicines that are on the national list of essential medicines and the medical insurance list.

They should also investigate and deal with unreasonable prescriptions according to law, monitor medicine prices regularly, and gradually optimize the pricing of medical services without increasing the burden on patients.

The State Council also called for reform of the ways medical insurance pays for medicines, so that generic brands that have passed evaluation will enjoy the same payment policy as their original counterparts.