Thousands of retirees in China have been protesting outside a popular park in Wuhan in response to "recent cuts in government-provided medical insurance for seniors," The New York Times reports.
The protests, the Times writes, are "the latest sign of strain on the finances of China's local governments," which are responsible for covering the cost of things like health care and utilities. China's controversial zero COVID policy "saddled those localities with additional costs, while a downturn in the real estate market eroded a reliable stream of revenue."
The cuts come "as part of a restructuring of the national health insurance system," during which "local governments are reducing the amount of money deposited into the personal accounts," says The Washington Post. The system consists of a collective pool of health funds and a personal account for each individual. But shouldering the costs of COVID-related care left "already cash-strapped local governments searching for ways to reduce costs." And though Beijing announced the benefit adjustments in 2020, "retirees complain that they were not consulted about the changes or given support to adjust to the new system," per the Post.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Video footage of the incident showed large crowds gathered around Zhongshan Park in Wuhan on Wednesday as the police attempted to push them back by imposing barricades. Footage also surfaced online of a similar demonstration happening on the same day in the coastal city of Dalian. Last month, videos posted online showed a crowd of retirees protesting outside government buildings in Guangzhou's southern city.
In a document posted on its website, the Wuhan government conceded that the reforms would mean less money in citizens' personal insurance accounts. Still, it said out-of-pocket expenses would be lower for some people "because the collective pool would shoulder more of a person's health care costs for routine hospital visits," per the Times.
-
Is New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan for free buses realistic?Talking Points A transit innovation or a costly mistake
-
5 side hustle ideas to supplement your budgetthe explainer Almost two-thirds of Americans are looking to get a second job in the next year
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Doctors sound the alarm about insurance company ‘downcoding’The Explainer ‘It’s blatantly disrespectful,’ one doctor said
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
Private equity firms might be causing more deaths in hospital ERsThe Explainer Deaths in ERs purchased by private equity firms rose 13%
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virusUnder The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Why the FDA wants to restrict kratom-related productsIn the Spotlight The compound is currently sold across the United States
