More gov't subsidies for rural medical insurance system

 BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government will raise its subsidies¹ for rural residents' medical insurance in 2013, Minister of Health Chen Zhu announced on Monday.

Under the new rural cooperative medical program, the annual government subsidy² for each rural resident will be increased from the current 240 yuan to 280 yuan (44.94 U.S. dollars), Chen said at the national health work conference in Beijing.

Under the program, rural residents will pay a 60 yuan-per person premium³, bringing the total funds pooled for each person to 340 yuan, up from 290 yuan in 2012.

China launched the rural insurance scheme in 2003 in a bid to ensure that the country's vast number of rural residents have access to affordable⁴ medical treatment and to reduce disease-triggered poverty.

The amount of people covered by the program has skyrocketed from 80 million to 900 million, and the average fund pooling standard has risen from 30 yuan in 2003 to the current 290 yuan.

Also at the conference, Chen said health concerns must be factored into social and economic policy-making and health risk assessments⁵ must be conducted prior to the launch of major industrial projects, as the country is increasingly affected⁶ by non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

According to the Medical and Health Services White Paper released in Dec., 260 million Chinese live with NCDs, and deaths resulting from NCDs represent 85 percent of the country's total deaths.

The two-day conference, which opened on Monday, also awarded model doctors and those who have made excellent contributions to carrying out the new rural cooperative medical program.

1 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

3 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。