2023 Chinese healthcare reform protests

Last updated

2023 Chinese healthcare reform protests
Date8 and 15 February 2023, 7 March 2023
Location
Wuhan and Dalian, China
Caused byExpenses resulting from the Chinese government's zero-COVID policy
MethodsProtests, demonstrations and protest songs

The 2023 Chinese healthcare reform protests were a series of simultaneous pensioner protests in the months that followed China's 2022 COVID-19 protests and the subsequent end of China's zero-COVID policies. On 15 February 2023, simultaneous mass protests of mostly elderly pensioners broke out in both Wuhan and Dalian.

Contents

Background

The Chinese government announced that they are reducing subsidies for personal accounts in favor of pooled accounts, but some individuals raised concerns about the government's actual use of the funds. Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), has suggested that the government's decision may not have been adequately explained to the public. [1]

China's healthcare system has long faced funding issues, and these challenges have only worsened in recent years due to the high cost of zero-COVID policies. As a result, local and regional authorities have attempted to cut back on spending, often at the expense of healthcare benefits for the elderly. [1] [2]

Protests

On 8 February 2023, thousands of retirees in Wuhan gathered in front of the city government to protest the slashing of medical subsidies. [3]

On 15 February 2023, protests erupted in both Wuhan and Dalian in response to new health insurance reforms related to ongoing struggles within China's healthcare system and cash-strapped localities struggling to recover from zero-COVID expenditures. Most of the demonstrators were elderly citizens who opposed recent changes to the local healthcare insurance system, claiming that the reforms would make medical care more costly and reduce their access to it. [1]

During the demonstration, a group of protesters chanted various slogans, including "down with the reactionary government". In addition, they sang "The Internationale", a song that has been associated with communist movements across the globe and recently repurposed for use at protests in China. [1] [4]

Reactions

In response to the protests, there was a large police presence in both cities, with some protestors alleging that local authorities were aware of the events in advance. Some individuals in Wuhan were asked "not to hold illegal protests, gatherings or demonstrations in public spaces" or to post protest content on social medias. [4]

Commentary

Researchers at Freedom House's China Dissent Monitor (CDM) noted that, while isolated protests throughout China are common, the topic of the protests was notable. Other commentators saw the protests as building off of the previous year's anti-COVID-zero protests, albeit with a different age cohort and following the rapid dismantlement of Zero-COVID and the resulting reopening outbreak which led to the deaths of a variety of prominent seniors. It also remained to be seen, in mid-February, whether the dual-city protests would similarly develop into a multi-site decentralized protest movement of its own. [1] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welfare state in the United Kingdom</span> Welfare Programs in the United Kingdom

The welfare state of the United Kingdom began to evolve in the 1900s and early 1910s, and comprises expenditures by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intended to improve health, education, employment and social security. The British system has been classified as a liberal welfare state system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in China</span> Overview of health in China

Health in China is a complex and multifaceted issue that encompasses a wide range of factors, including public health policy, healthcare infrastructure, environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and socioeconomic conditions.

In China, the practice of medicine is a mixture of government, charitable, and private institutions, while many people rely on traditional medicine. Until reforms in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, physicians were quasi-government employees and with little freedom in the choice of the hospital to work with. In addition, decades of planned economic policy discouraged physicians from opening their own clinics, and the practice of medicine was generally under the control of local units, such as factories, government, offices, or communes. The reforms created a largely private practice, and physicians now are encouraged to open private clinics and for-profit hospitals.

The healthcare reform in China refers to the previous and ongoing healthcare system transition in modern China. China's government, specifically the National Health and Family Planning Commission, plays a leading role in these reforms. Reforms focus on establishing public medical insurance systems and enhancing public healthcare providers, the main component in China's healthcare system. In urban and rural areas, three government medical insurance systems—Urban Residents Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, and the New Rural Co-operative Medical Scheme—cover almost everyone. Various public healthcare facilities, including county or city hospitals, community health centers, and township health centers, were founded to serve diverse needs. Current and future reforms are outlined in Healthy China 2030.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Europe</span>

Healthcare in Europe is provided through a wide range of different systems run at individual national levels. Most European countries have a system of tightly regulated, competing private health insurance companies, with government subsidies available for citizens who cannot afford coverage. Many European countries offer their citizens a European Health Insurance Card which, on a reciprocal basis, provides insurance for emergency medical treatment insurance when visiting other participating European countries.

Healthcare in Algeria consists of an established network of hospitals, clinics, and dispensaries. The government provides universal health care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Singapore</span> Healthcare in Singapore

Healthcare in Singapore is under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Singapore. It mainly consists of a government-run publicly funded universal healthcare system as well as a significant private healthcare sector. Financing of healthcare costs is done through a mixture of direct government subsidies, compulsory comprehensive savings, national healthcare insurance, and cost-sharing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in South Korea</span>

Healthcare in South Korea is universal, although a significant portion of healthcare is privately funded. South Korea's healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance Service, a public health insurance program run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to which South Koreans of sufficient income must pay contributions in order to insure themselves and their dependants, and the Medical Aid Program, a social welfare program run by the central government and local governments to insure those unable to pay National Health Insurance contributions. In 2015, South Korea ranked first in the OECD for healthcare access. Satisfaction of healthcare has been consistently among the highest in the world – South Korea was rated as the second most efficient healthcare system by Bloomberg. Health insurance in South Korea is single-payer system. The introduction of health insurance resulted in a significant surge in the utilization of healthcare services. Healthcare providers are overburdened by low reimbursement rates.

The healthcare reform debate in the United States has been a political issue focusing upon increasing medical coverage, decreasing costs, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Egypt</span>

The Egyptian healthcare system is pluralistic, comprising a variety of healthcare providers from the public as well as the private sector. The government ensures basic universal health coverage, although private services are also available for those with the ability to pay. Due to social and economic pressures, Egypt's healthcare system is subject to many challenges. However, several recent efforts have been directed towards enhancing the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public pensions in Greece</span>

Public pensions in Greece are designed to provide incomes to Greek pensioners upon reaching retirement. For decades pensions in Greece were known to be among the most generous in the European Union, allowing many pensioners to retire earlier than pensioners in other European countries. This placed a heavy burden on Greece's public finances which made the Greek state increasingly vulnerable to external economic shocks, culminating in a recession due to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent European debt crisis. This series of crises has forced the Greek government to implement economic reforms aimed at restructuring the pension system and eliminating inefficiencies within it. Measures in the Greek austerity packages imposed upon Greek citizens by the European Central Bank have achieved some success at reforming the pension system despite having stark ramifications for standards of living in Greece, which have seen a sharp decline since the beginning of the crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aging of China</span> Rapidly aging population in China

China's population is aging faster than almost all other countries in modern history. In 2050, the proportion of Chinese over retirement age will become 39 percent of the total population according to projections. China is rapidly aging at an earlier stage of its development than other countries. Current demographic trends could hinder economic growth and create challenging social issues in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic</span> Pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified in an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Attempts to contain it there failed, allowing the virus to spread to other areas of Asia and later worldwide in 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020. The WHO ended its PHEIC declaration on 5 May 2023. As of 21 October 2023, the pandemic had caused 771,407,061 cases and 6,972,139 confirmed deaths, ranking it fifth in the deadliest epidemics and pandemics in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in mainland China

The COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). China was the first country to experience an outbreak of the disease, the first to impose drastic measures in response, and one of the first countries to bring the outbreak under control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aid and relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia</span>

The Government of Malaysia along with various non governmental organisations (NGOs), companies, and foreign governments introduced various financial aid and relief programs in response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. In 27 March 2020, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin introduced an economic stimulus package known as the Prihatin worth RM250 billion.

Protests erupted on 15 July 2021 to protest the water shortages and crisis, but quickly were met with police violence and brutality. "Bloody Aban", November 2021 saw further protests due to water shortages but various other protests and strikes also took place due to the worsening economic situation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese government response to COVID-19</span> Response from the Chinese government to COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the government of China under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration pursued a zero-COVID strategy to prevent the domestic spread of COVID-19 until December 7, 2022. Aspects of the response have been controversial, with the zero-COVID approach being praised and the government's lack of transparency, censorship, and spread of misinformation being criticized. The government abandoned its zero-COVID policy on 7 December 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero-COVID</span> COVID-19 elimination strategy

Zero-COVID, also known as COVID-Zero and "Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, and Support" (FTTIS), was a public health policy implemented by some countries, especially China, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to the living with COVID-19 strategy, the zero-COVID strategy was one "of control and maximum suppression." It involved using public health measures such as contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantine, lockdowns, and mitigation software in order to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it was detected. The goal of the strategy was to get the area back to zero new infections and resume normal economic and social activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 COVID-19 protests in China</span> 2022 protests following COVID-19 lockdowns in China

A series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China in November 2022. Colloquially referred to as the White Paper Protests or the A4 Revolution, the demonstrations started in response to measures taken by the Chinese government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, including implementing a zero-COVID policy. Discontent had grown since the beginning of the pandemic towards the policy, which confined many people to their homes without work and left some unable to purchase or receive daily necessities.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Yeh, Nadya (15 February 2023). "Pensioners protest as China's healthcare system struggles to recover from COVID spending". The China Project. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. He, Laura (16 January 2023). "One Chinese province spent $22 billion on eliminating Covid before policy U-turn". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. "武漢退休族抗議減醫藥補貼 擬發動更大維權行動[] | 兩岸". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). 8 February 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 Quin Pollard, Martin; Chen, Laurie (15 February 2023). "Chinese retirees take to streets to protest health insurance cuts". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. Robles, Pablo; Wang, Vivian; Dong, Joy (5 February 2023). "In China's Covid Fog, Deaths of Scholars Offer a Clue". New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.