Each year, the proposals and motions raised during the Two Sessions attract significant attention, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, technology, new energy vehicles, culture, and real estate. Regarding healthcare, this year's government work report focused on areas including health system development, public health, centralized drug procurement, and accessibility of medical services.
The key points are as follows:
1. Advance the development of the healthcare system.
2. Continue the Healthy China initiative, deepen patriotic health campaigns, reform the disease prevention and control system, innovate mechanisms for integrating prevention and treatment, improve public health emergency response and supply systems, and establish a stable investment mechanism for public health.
3. Deepen comprehensive reforms in public hospitals, expand pilot programs for national medical centers and regional medical centers, strengthen the队伍建设 of general practitioners and rural doctors, enhance county-level medical service capabilities, and accelerate the development of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system.
4. Emphasize both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine equally, and implement major projects to revitalize and develop TCM.
5. Support the development of private medical institutions and promote the standardized development of "Internet + healthcare."
6. Strengthen supervision of food, drugs, and vaccines.
7. Optimize convenient measures such as appointment-based诊疗, and strive to ensure that patients with severe or acute illnesses receive timely treatment.
8. Increase per capita government subsidies for resident medical insurance and basic public health services by 30 yuan and 5 yuan respectively, promote provincial-level pooling of basic medical insurance, and enable direct cross-provincial settlement of outpatient expenses.
9. Establish and improve a mutual aid mechanism for outpatient services, gradually include outpatient expenses in the unified fund reimbursement, improve mechanisms for ensuring the supply and stable pricing of shortage drugs, and adopt measures such as including more chronic and common disease drugs and high-value medical consumables in centralized volume-based procurement to further significantly reduce patients' medical burdens.
Representatives and committee members, carrying the nation's expectations for the healthcare industry, have made their voices heard on people's health during the Two Sessions.
Public Health Remains a Focus of the Two Sessions
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health remains a top priority in Two Sessions discussions. Topics include pandemic prevention and control system development, myopia prevention in children and adolescents, public first aid, and population aging.
Gao Fu, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), proposed the establishment of a national vaccine research center to "continue vaccine research."
On March 4, Gao Fu, a CPPCC member and Director of China CDC, shared in an exclusive interview with China News Service that he had prepared three proposals for the 2021 Two Sessions: first, to emphasize scientific and technological innovation and vaccine development by establishing a national vaccine research center; second, to promote healthy, happy, and long life by studying long-lived populations; and third, to enhance scientific and technological innovation.
Gao stated, "I propose that we increase investment in scientific and technological innovation, strengthen our confidence in science and technology, and advance vaccine research and development. The country should strengthen research in immunology and virology at the basic level. I even suggest that China establish its own national vaccine and immunology research center. I also urge the public to have a clear and scientific understanding of vaccines and immunization."
Regarding promoting healthy, happy, and long life, China CDC is collaborating with the Suzhou CDC to study long-lived populations in Suzhou to identify the secrets of healthy longevity. Professor Gao also emphasized the importance of mental health, advocating for a pursuit of healthy, happy, and long life.

Myopia Prevention and Control Requires Urgent Attention

He Wei, a CPPCC member and President of Liaoning He's Eye Hospital, called for leveraging big data to strengthen myopia prevention and control. In recent years, the myopia rate among children and adolescents in China has remained high, with trends toward younger age and increased severity, making it an undeniable public health issue.
He Wei suggested using big data to build a robust myopia prevention and control network. By utilizing a cloud-based big data platform, eye health data for each child could be updated in real time into electronic视力健康 records, linked to a unique identifier for lifelong tracking, ensuring seamless data transfer during entry into kindergarten and school, and ensuring data integrity, completeness, accuracy, traceability, and manageability. Timely analysis of monitoring data would allow for dynamic adjustments to prevention and control strategies in areas with high myopia prevalence.
Regarding vision protection, Li Suyan, a National People's Congress (NPC) deputy and professor, proposed incorporating vision into the comprehensive assessment of students'综合素质, and establishing an innovative education evaluation mechanism. She suggested including students' physical health status, including vision, as a standard for measuring students' comprehensive quality, and as an important basis for evaluating local and school performance. "We must not sacrifice children's eyesight in exchange for high scores and good grades."
Tao Yong, a Beijing ophthalmologist, expressed support for incorporating vision into the assessment system of education and health regulatory departments, rather than evaluating individual students. "If we could care about children's eyesight as much as we care about their academic scores, we would be halfway to success."
Public First Aid
Ao Hushan, a CPPCC member and Chief Physician at Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, once again called through the committee channel for the public to prioritize learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), for the government to prioritize the deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and for January 20 to be designated as National First Aid Day, emphasizing CPR and first aid system development at the national culture and consciousness level, and enhancing the nation's emergency response capability.
In 2018, Ao Hushan appeared on the committee channel holding an AED, first calling for the country to prioritize CPR training and further increase the deployment rate of AEDs in relevant locations. Over the past three years, the proposals on CPR have received attention and been implemented.
Including Premarital Checkups in Public Health Services
Zhou Hongyu, an NPC deputy and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People's Congress, proposed that the State Council amend the Marriage Registration Regulations to make the national free pre-pregnancy health checkup program a prerequisite for marriage registration, include premarital checkups in public health services, cover the basic costs of premarital checkups through government funding, and implement the program jointly by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health Commission, increasing the premarital checkup rate from the current 61.1% to 100%, and establishing a unified database for birth defect risk assessment, classification, statistics, and follow-up services for newlyweds. The Ministry of Finance could increase expenditures on maternal and child health and family planning public services during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and the National Healthcare Security Administration could guide local医保 departments to appropriately increase reimbursement amounts for routine prenatal checkups and inpatient delivery costs based on local circumstances.
He Jinying, an NPC deputy and teacher at Langfang No. 6 Middle School, proposed that routine prenatal checkups be free of charge, childcare subsidies be provided monthly for children under 6 years old, primary schools dismiss students at 5:00 PM, homework of any form be eliminated for grades 1 to 3, and the responsibilities of families and schools be clarified.
He Lin, an NPC deputy and Deputy Director of the Health Education Institute at the Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested in an interview that health education be incorporated into the comprehensive evaluation system for secondary school entrance and college entrance examinations.
He Lin stated that school health education plays a crucial role in the health education of the entire population. The delivery of health education courses in primary and secondary schools is important for helping young people develop health awareness, acquire health knowledge, and form healthy habits, thereby promoting their overall healthy growth.
However, in some places, school health education still does not receive sufficient attention. He Lin's field research revealed that health education textbooks are often non-standard, with some teachers even downloading materials from the internet based on their own understanding, which may not be suitable for students at that grade level. The scheduling of health education classes is highly flexible, and the implementation rate is low. Additionally, there is a significant shortage of professional health education teachers.
To address these issues, He Lin suggested that health education be separated from physical education and health classes, included in the curriculum for students at all grade levels with a systematic teaching plan, and incorporated into the comprehensive evaluation system for secondary school entrance and college entrance examinations, using more effective institutional and policy guidance to ensure its implementation and effectiveness.

Food Safety

Li Dongyan, an NPC deputy, proposed giving "digital wings" to campus food safety. Since last year, Li Dongyan, an NPC deputy and Director of the Development Planning and Discipline Construction Office at Henan Polytechnic University, has been conducting intensive research. Her notebook is filled with her insights and reflections, witnessing her dedication to fulfilling her duties as an NPC deputy.
"Schools are places where talents gather and populations are密集, so it is urgent to focus on the 'safety on the tip of the tongue' for teachers and students during the pandemic," said Li Dongyan, an NPC deputy from a higher education institution. She has consistently focused on topics such as "strengthening safety education," "ensuring energy security," and "ensuring employment for people's livelihoods," with "campus food safety" being the key theme of her proposals since the pandemic began.
Li Dongyan suggested actively exploring the potential of digital technology, enhancing digital management capabilities, and creating a "digital firewall" for campus food safety. "Through digital transformation, university canteens can not only ensure food safety for teachers and students but also avoid waste of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, achieving the ideal result of 'killing two birds with one stone,'" Li said.
Promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine
Si Fuchun, an NPC deputy and Vice President of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, proposed establishing and improving a community-based TCM service system. In an interview, he shared that he would bring a proposal to this year's session on establishing and improving a community-based TCM service system.
Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased public awareness and trust in TCM for prevention, treatment, and health maintenance, enhancing residents' initiative to seek TCM health services.
Under these circumstances, it is urgent to summarize the experience of TCM in community pandemic prevention and control, and establish and improve a long-term mechanism for TCM in community pandemic response, ensuring the full application of TCM's unique technologies, methods, and effective formulas in pandemic prevention and control.
"Establish a TCM pandemic prevention expert think tank, and leverage the internet to build a 'TCM+' management platform for infectious diseases or major pandemics," Si Fuchun suggested. He also proposed establishing and improving a long-term mechanism for TCM in community pandemic response, creating a smart community TCM service platform, and coordinating multiple parties to improve the community TCM service network.
Medical Education
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of medical education has become even more apparent. Wang Chen, President of Peking Union Medical College, believes that medical education is fundamental and must "brighten career prospects while rigorously training."
Regarding current medical education, Academician Wang Chen proposed four suggestions:
First, there is a growing phenomenon of doctors not wanting their children to pursue medicine, reflecting a decline in professional honor. This should be addressed through social mechanisms. "When the trees at the upper reaches of the Yellow River are cut down, only then do we realize downstream flooding, but it is too late to plant trees again."
Second, in China, specific specialties are designated at the undergraduate level, with lower admission scores. The narrowness of specialty settings severely affects medical students' access to general education and quality cultivation.
Third, to improve the quality of medical education, Wang Chen believes that medical schools should be established and enrollment numbers determined based on medical education resources, while establishing a完善的 standardized residency and specialty training system. He called on relevant departments to provide sufficient resources and management input for postgraduate medical education.
Fourth, he suggested establishing a physician assistant specialty, as proven internationally to meet industry needs, cultivating medical personnel at different levels to form a reasonable medical human resources structure; and establishing a attending physician responsibility system that matches and connects with the postgraduate medical education system, providing clear career pathways for young physicians.
Sex education has also long been a concern, with parents too shy to discuss it and teachers often avoiding the topic. For young people, when sex education is lacking, the internet becomes their source of information, and its mixed quality can easily lead to unhealthy sexual concepts.
Ma Xiuzhen, a CPPCC member and Director of the Ningxia Health Commission, also focused on education, suggesting明确ing the allocation of class hours for sex education in secondary schools. Her proposal, titled "Strengthening Sexuality Health Education for Secondary School Students," noted that China has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with the average age of puberty onset in girls being 9.2 years, 3.3 years earlier than 30 years ago, meaning children are facing emotional issues at an increasingly younger age.
Specific recommendations include:
1. Establish the status of sex education in the curriculum,明确ing class hour allocations based on student age and subject characteristics;
2. Strengthen the队伍建设 of sex education teachers by establishing positions for sexuality health educators;
3. Develop national sex education curriculum standards or guidelines, and support research, resource development, and teacher training in sex education;
4. Establish a sex education evaluation and supervision mechanism, incorporating sex education teaching evaluation into the compulsory education quality monitoring and evaluation system to monitor teaching outcomes.
In 2018, the Beijing Normal University Child Sex Education Research Group proposed the implementation of sex education in secondary schools during the Two Sessions. In 2010, Zhang Xiaomei, President and Editor-in-Chief of China Beauty Fashion News, proposed that "sex education should begin in elementary school."
Deepening Healthcare System Reform and Promoting Accessibility of Medical Services
Liu Yuanli, from the School of Health Policy and Management at Peking Union Medical College, noted that this year's key work focuses more on practical issues closely related to improving the accessibility and effectiveness of health services for the public. Examples include increasing per capita government subsidies for resident medical insurance and basic public health services by 30 yuan and 5 yuan respectively, strengthening supervision of food, drugs, and vaccines, optimizing convenient measures such as appointment-based诊疗, and strengthening the队伍建设 of general practitioners and rural doctors.
Cao Jian, Director of the Shanghai Jiaotong University Medical Service Index Research Institute and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Health Culture Association, believes that the grassroots level will play a greater role in the entire health system. Whether in pandemic prevention or disease prevention and treatment, the grassroots health system should play a more significant role. Through further strengthening and training at the grassroots level, the inverted triangle of the healthcare system can truly be reversed.
Rapid testing companies and independent laboratory companies have new opportunities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many third-party laboratories played significant roles, and these companies are leveraging the pandemic to help grassroots medical institutions establish laboratories through collaboration.
Xu Yucai, Deputy Director of the Shanyang County Health Bureau in Shaanxi Province, believes that promoting the development of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system is a top priority of the new healthcare reform. Therefore, tiered diagnosis and treatment has always been a focus of the government's efforts and a frequent topic in government work reports. According to the 2019 Health Statistics Bulletin released by the government, grassroots medical institutions handled 4.53 billion patient visits (52.0%), still falling short of the 65% target, requiring continued efforts.
He believes that building a tiered diagnosis and treatment system involves: first, clarifying the diagnostic and treatment functions of various types and levels of medical institutions; second, strengthening the队伍建设 of grassroots medical personnel; third, vigorously improving grassroots medical service capabilities; fourth, comprehensively enhancing the综合能力 of county-level public hospitals; fifth, integrating and promoting the sharing of regional medical resources; and sixth, accelerating the advancement of healthcare信息化.
He Lin, an NPC deputy and Deputy Director of the Health Education Institute at the Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested removing the "practice location" restriction in the Licensed Physicians Law to allow doctors to practice at multiple sites, thereby addressing the lack of technical expertise at grassroots hospitals and improving the uneven distribution of medical resources. He Lin believes that amending the Licensed Physicians Law to allow multi-site practice would achieve a "triple win." For grassroots hospitals, it would enable them to invite more experts for consultations and improve their medical技术水平 through on-site teaching. For the public, it would eliminate the need to travel to large hospitals for expert appointments, alleviating the problems of difficult and expensive access to medical care. For physicians, reasonable mobility would encourage them to improve their skills and earn appropriate compensation based on their expertise.
Xiao Ran, a CPPCC member and Director of the Research Center at the Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, suggested first establishing a standardized medical aesthetics talent training system and a specialist physician system.
In recent years, with economic development, the public's desire to enhance their appearance through medical aesthetics has grown, and China's medical aesthetics market has developed rapidly. Regarding the "three illegalities" in the medical aesthetics industry—non-medical aesthetic venues providing medical aesthetic treatments, untrained non-professional physicians, and unqualified medical aesthetic products—multiple national departments have taken action, issuing documents such as the "Notice on Launching a Special Campaign to Crack Down on Illegal Medical Aesthetics" (Guowei Ban Jiandu Han [2017] No. 510) and the "Notice on Further Strengthening Comprehensive Regulatory Enforcement in Medical Aesthetics" (Guowei Ban Jiandu Fa [2020] No. 4). These measures have achieved some results, but the chaotic situation in medical aesthetics requires sustained governance. In particular, the management of medical aesthetics practitioners needs further standardization to fundamentally reduce the occurrence of medical aesthetic accidents.
Recommendations:
1. Establish a standardized medical aesthetics talent training system and specialist physician system
The growth of the medical aesthetics industry has led to a surge in demand for related physicians. The number of non-standard physicians in the industry far exceeds the number of正规 physicians. These physicians have not undergone rigorous specialty training, resulting in uneven professional skills and a high risk of medical accidents, posing significant harm to the public. Additionally, there is confusion in the implementation of the "medical aesthetics attending physician system" under the 2002 "Measures for the Administration of Medical Aesthetic Services" by local health authorities, leading to its cancellation in some provinces and cities. The specialist physician system is crucial for physician training and quality control of medical care. Therefore, it is recommended to standardize the medical aesthetics talent training system, abolish the medical aesthetics attending physician system, increase the enrollment for standardized residency training in相关 specialties, promptly implement the specialist physician training system, and establish policies for continuing medical education in medical aesthetics. By establishing a complete talent training model that includes formal medical education, postgraduate medical education (standardized residency training, standardized specialist training), and continuing medical education, the goal of enhancing practitioners' diagnostic and treatment capabilities can be achieved.
2. Strengthen systematic professional training for physicians in private hospitals
In the medical aesthetics industry, private institutions account for nearly 80% of the market share. Many physicians learn medical aesthetic techniques through various meetings and training courses, without undergoing rigorous systematic training. Article 41 of the Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law states, "Support and standardize cooperation between social-run medical institutions and government-run medical institutions in various areas such as medical services, discipline development, and talent training." It is recommended to establish a cooperation mechanism between private medical aesthetic hospitals and public hospitals, allowing qualified physicians at private institutions to access professional training, thereby improving the professional level and skills of practitioners at private hospitals and promoting the healthy development of the medical aesthetics industry.
3. Abolish medical aesthetics consultants and standardize medical assistants
Many medical aesthetics institutions employ medical aesthetics consultants, often扮演ing the role of "market salespeople." These consultants, lacking a medical background, often avoid discussing medical risks and mislead consumers, leading to numerous disputes and chaos in the medical aesthetics industry. It is recommended to abolish medical aesthetics consultants nationwide, drawing on the example of Shanghai in 2019, which standardized the role as "medical assistants" and required them to have a medical background, defining their scope of work as assisting with administrative and medical事务, without participating in physician diagnostic and treatment activities.
4. Establish long-term mechanisms, enhance joint law enforcement, and取缔 illegal medical aesthetics practitioners
Currently, the number of specialist physicians is far from meeting the industry's demand, and a large number of illegal medical aesthetics practitioners are mixed in, seriously endangering consumers. Some have not obtained licensed physician qualifications, some exceed their scope of practice, and many non-medical personnel (such as those from beauty salons, barbershops, nail salons, etc.) perform "micro-plastic surgery" in non-medical settings. These illegal practitioners have a weak awareness of legal compliance, necessitating the improvement of long-term regulatory mechanisms and joint law enforcement methods. It is recommended to rigorously crack down on all forms of unlicensed medical aesthetics practices and illegal training institutions, establish a "blacklist" system and incorporate it into the social credit system, regularly publicize cases of violations through multiple channels, encourage consumers to choose正规 medical aesthetic institutions and physicians for medical aesthetic services, and ensure the safety and stability of the medical aesthetics market order.
Chen Kun, an NPC deputy, suggested improving the compensation and pension benefits for rural doctors.
Chen Kun is the head of the clinic in Longtan Village, Zhaoping County, Guangxi, and has been a rural doctor in Longtan Village for over 20 years.
Longtan Village has 730 residents, and Chen Kun's daily work includes定期 conducting health check-ups for the elderly, conducting home visits for patients with chronic diseases, and establishing health records for villagers. Over the years, Chen Kun has been dedicated to普及ing health knowledge among villagers. With her efforts, villagers' health awareness has continuously improved, shifting from reluctance to undergo physical examinations to now proactively inquiring about examination schedules.
"We are the guardians of villagers' health and the first line of defense for rural health," Chen Kun said, emphasizing the importance of rural doctors. However, due to various reasons, the phenomenon of villages failing to retain doctors is not uncommon. Chen Kun suggested improving the compensation and pension benefits for rural doctors, enabling them to安心扎根 in rural areas, safeguarding villagers' health, and contributing to rural revitalization.
Li Xiaoqin, an NPC deputy, suggested including depression in medical insurance coverage.
Li Xiaoqin, an NPC deputy and Vice President of Guangzhou University, stated that surveys show the incidence of depression in China reached 2.1% in 2019, with a逐年 increasing trend. Over 95 million people in China suffer from depression, making it one of the "hardest-hit areas" for mental health issues.
Li Xiaoqin noted that depression has a high incidence rate and long duration, and is the single most prevalent mental illness. However, knowledge about depression is insufficient, stigmatization is severe, and societal prejudice and discrimination against depression are increasing. Access to intervention and treatment for depression is inadequate, and intervention for key populations needs strengthening. Currently, depression is not yet included in the scope of chronic diseases covered by outpatient medical insurance, and psychological counseling is even less covered by medical insurance. Additionally, there is a shortage of mental health service professionals, and talent support measures need improvement.
Li Xiaoqin suggested strengthening mental health services for key populations and exploring effective models for psychological counseling and crisis intervention. She specifically emphasized the need to refine social security measures by including depression and psychological counseling in the scope of chronic diseases covered by outpatient medical insurance.
Including Surrogacy in Criminal Law
Sun Wei, an NPC deputy and reproductive medicine expert, stated that surrogacy violates ethics and harms women's rights, and suggested including surrogacy in the criminal law. She also pointed out that current laws do not address the act of seeking surrogacy abroad through intermediaries, and "suggested the country address this issue."
Lowering the Legal Marriage Age
Lu Xiaoming, a CPPCC member, stated that the current legal marriage age of 22 for men and 20 for women is significantly higher than international standards. To stimulate population growth, the marriage age could be lowered to 18.
Enhancing Hospital Security
Ding Lieming, an NPC deputy and Chairman of Betta Pharmaceuticals, submitted a proposal to the Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress titled "Suggestions on Accelerating the Implementation of Mandatory Security Checks in Hospitals" in response to recurring incidents of violence against medical staff, including fatal attacks.
Ding Lieming stated that mandatory security checks have been fully implemented in public places such as airports, railway stations, and bus terminals in China. As public places with large人流, hospitals have precedent and legal basis for implementing mandatory security checks. He suggested amending laws or enacting local regulations to require governments to allocate special budgets to support and require hospitals to equip security personnel and equipment, and to select security service companies with security check qualifications to perform security duties. All individuals entering hospitals or their key areas should comply with security checks; those who refuse may be denied entry, and those who强行 enter or disrupt security check order may be immediately stopped or reported to public security authorities.
Ding Lieming also suggested establishing police stations in secondary and above hospitals,配备ing necessary police forces to effectively fulfill their roles, strengthen guidance and inspection of daily security work in hospitals, and conduct巡逻, prevention, and response activities.
Early Lung Cancer Screening
Li Weimin, an NPC deputy, suggested including low-dose spiral CT lung cancer screening in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement to improve the early diagnosis rate of lung cancer.
Currently, the global early diagnosis rate for lung cancer is around 16%, with China falling below this level. However, through the promotion and use of low-dose spiral CT screening, West China Hospital has increased its diagnosis rate to 43%. Due to the relatively high cost of this examination, its推广 has been challenging. Therefore, Li Weimin hopes that low-dose spiral CT lung cancer screening can be included in medical insurance reimbursement to improve the early diagnosis rate of lung cancer.

Li Weimin stated that the biggest problem with lung cancer currently is difficulty in early diagnosis. When lung cancer is detected, it is often already in its late stages. The five-year survival rate for early-stage lung cancer can reach 92%, whereas for late-stage lung cancer, it is less than 5%.