Boy's death sparks riots over China's health costs

Thousands of protesters went on a rampage through a hospital in south-west China after the death of a young boy whose guardians could not afford to pay treatment fees of more than $82, it was reported on Nov. 12. The riot, which led to clashes with security personnel and the burning of several police cars, highlights public frustrations over a healthcare system that was once free for all but is now a symbol of the growing inequality between rich and poor in an increasingly market-oriented economy. According to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, 2,000 protesters tore through the Guangan City No. 2 People's Hospital in Sichuan province on Nov. 10, smashing windows and equipment and forcing doctors to halt work. About 100 armed police broke up the crowd, injuring 10 people and detaining five. The disturbance was sparked by reports that a young boy died in the hospital's care on Nov. 7 after his grandfather failed to cover his medical costs. The boy had swallowed farming chemicals stored in a soft drink bottle. Doctors told the grandfather that he had to go home and collect more money for treatment. While he was away, the boy died. The Guangan municipal government cleared the hospital of wrongdoing, saying doctors provided appropriate emergency care for the boy before the issue of fees arose. In a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency, the local authorities said the grandfather paid about $15 to the hospital, instead of the full $81 charge, after the boy had died. Local residents took to the streets to try to make the hospital take responsibility for the death. Police roadblocks were set up around Guangan and the security presence was stepped up. "I saw many armed policemen on the streets. They were using loudspeakers to tell the people not to believe rumors and to trust the government," a local telephone operator told the Associated Press news agency. "They were telling people not to protest." China's provinces have been hit by a wave of unrest in recent years. Most disturbances have been prompted by land seizures, corruption and the destruction of the environment. But rising healthcare costs are also high on the list of rural grievances. Since the start of market reforms in 1979, the government's share of healthcare costs has declined from 54 percent to 17 percent. In the countryside, only 20-30 percent of the country's 800 million farmers have insurance cover because the old rural collectives, which used to spread healthcare costs among members, were abolished in the early 1980s. As a result, studies have shown that illness is the main reason why people fall into poverty, cited in 40 percent of cases. According to the World Health Organization, China ranks 188 out of 191 nations in terms of the equality of financial access to health. This is of increasing concern to the central government. Last year, the state's Development Research Center said the market-oriented medical reforms introduced since 1979 had failed.