The on-going transition to a market economy in China is having a profound effect on health services. As a result, the government has made health one of the key policy areas, and there is now a general recognition of the need to reform urban health services. Multidisciplinary in scope, this exceptional volume draws on a prestigious report to explore how changes in health finance have affected the performance of urban health services in terms of equity and efficiency. Based on empirical evidence from the cities of Nantong, Jiangsu Province and Zibo, Shandong Province (selected for their innovative approach to health system development), the book offers an in-depth understanding of the relationship between transition, health reform and health system performance in urban settings. It features collaboration between European and Chinese academics and Chinese practitioners and officials, providing valuable background and contextual information on a complex system of healthcare, and presenting an analysis of policy impact and likely future direction.
Biography
Gerald Bloom is Leader of the Health and Social Change Team at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Shenglan Tang is a Senior Lecturer in the International Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK.
’The multidisciplinary contributors provide an excellent combination of general observation on healthcare reform and sound and specific policy recommendations based on detailed fieldwork in the two sites of Nantong and Zibo...The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the reform of urban healthcare systems in general and in China specifically. It provides a fascinating view of how the roles of the state, market and civil society in providing healthcare have changed over the last 20 years and how they must evolve further in the future.’ Professor Tony Saich, Harvard University, USA
