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Vice-Premier Wu Yi apologized to lawmakers yesterday for failing to check soaring medical expenses.

"People are dissatisfied, and I feel guilty for that. I should apologize to you," Wu said at a panel discussion with lawmakers on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC).

Wu, who successfully steered China's negotiations with the World Trade Organization, is the only female vice-premier in the cabinet. Her jurisdiction includes health and medical services.

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Rising medical costs have become a major concern in China. And a series of accidents caused by substandard food and medicine added to people's woes.

"Food and drug safety are a matter of people's health and security," Wu said.

Statistics show that nearly 70 percent of China's food producers are small factories or workshops. More than 85 percent of China's drug manufacturers are small companies with annual sales revenue of less than 100 million yuan ($12.9 million).

Wu promised that the government would more closely supervise small workshops, food stores, stalls and eateries, the likeliest sources of food poisoning.

The government will also monitor food and drug makers and distributors more closely, Wu said.

She also promised to address problems in the medicine sector and said the country's drug watchdog would improve the administrative system for drug research and production.

'Basic medicine system'

Health Minister Gao Qiang said yesterday that China had pinned its hopes on a "basic medicine system" to tackle complaints about limited public access to medicine.

"High drug prices are a major reason for high medical expenses. The key to this problem is to set up a basic medicine system," Gao told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing parliamentary session.

The system, which would include a catalogue of necessary drugs that would be produced and distributed under government control and supervision, could help ensure access to a range of basic medicines and prevent manufacturers and business people from circumventing existing price controls, Gao said.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the central government reduced funding for healthcare, creating deficits for public health institutions. This move forced hospitals to generate their own revenue by aggressively selling drugs.

To stem the rising tide of public complaints about high medical costs, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) capped the cost of hundreds of drugs.

However, critics argue that the price cuts have not been effective since drug manufacturers often change the names and packaging of their drugs to escape price controls.

Some hospitals and clinics have also turned a blind eye to government price caps and refused to prescribe lower-priced alternative drugs.

Gao said drug production, distribution and use were all riddled with problems, which not only inflated drug prices, but also upset the public.

"I myself am also very dissatisfied," he said.

He said the catalogue could be based on 300 to 400 drugs recommended by the World Health Organization every year.

"The government must take action to tighten control and supervision of the production, purchase and distribution of drugs to ensure that they are safe and sold at affordable prices," the minister said.

Drug pricing in China currently falls under the jurisdiction of several departments.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 03/08/2007 page5)