New statistics from the Ministry of Health show a new rural cooperative medical system in China is covering over 170 million farmers, or about twenty percent of the agricultural population, since the system was launched in 2003.

The rural cooperative medical system is funded by allocations from the central government, subsidies from local governments and fees handed in by the farmers who join the system voluntarily. The system reimburses the farmers in proportion to the scale of the medical expenditure incurred, once they are treated or hospitalized for illnesses.

The Chinese Ministry of Health says it will strive to put the system in place nationwide in 2008 and ensure to have basically all rural residents covered by it in 2010.