BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key health news from the past week:
-- Progress in occupational disease prevention, treatment
China's health authority summarized the progress in occupational disease prevention and treatment in recent years.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has adopted four amendments to the law on occupational disease prevention and treatment and the State Council has released a national plan on the prevention and treatment of occupational disease.
The National Health Commission and other agencies had introduced 11 regulations and more than 700 standards on occupational health.
Special campaigns against occupational hazards were also launched in key industries, and about 4.3 million business leaders and staff in charge of occupational hazard management received training over the past 10 years.
-- Unify rural, urban medical insurance schemes
China plans to fully establish a unified national medical insurance service to give equal benefits to both its urban and rural citizens.
Seven provincial-level regions that have not yet fully intergrated their rural and urban medical insurance schemes are urged to speed up the process and establish a unified system by the end of 2019. Currently, 24 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland have established a unified medical insurance service.
-- Fight against pneumoconiosis
China will fight against pneumoconiosis, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of all occupational disease cases in the country and people diagnosed with the disease are at an increasingly younger age.
China's National Health Commission, with assistance from other departments, will make efforts to control dust hazards in industries including mining, metallurgy and construction materials to reduce new pneumoconiosis patients.
Administrations will also expand coverage of employment injury insurance and medical insurance to guarantee necessary treatment for pneumoconiosis patients.
-- Expand health aid program for impoverished people
Chinese authorities will expand a health aid program to help people from impoverished families in rural areas receive treatment for 25 major diseases this year.
The project, launched in 2017, is intended to reduce the financial burdens of poor households by reimbursing patients for treatment expenses.
The number of reimbursable major diseases has increased from nine in 2017 to 25, including congenital heart diseases in children, gastric cancer and esophageal cancer.
