China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Friday that the central government had allocated 37.2 billion yuan (US$5.45 billion) to subsidize nationwide medical reforms.

Specifically, 22 billion yuan will be used to subsidize a new type of rural cooperative medical care system, 3.7 billion to subsidize basic medical insurance for urban residents, 3.2 billion to urban and rural medicaid and 8.3 billion to basic public health services, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The funds would be mainly used to "subsidize the nationwide medical insurance program, help disadvantaged people visit the doctor, and provide certain public health services free of charge for urban and rural residents," according to the statement.

The Chinese government passed a medical reform plan in January 2009, which aims to spend 850 billion yuan by 2011 to provide universal health care to the country's 1.3 billion population.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2010)