英闻天下——320 Paying after Medical Treatment

 　　China's Ministry¹ of Health is promoting a new medical payment system which will allow patients to pay after they receive medical treatment.

 

　　More than 20 provincial² regions are carrying out the payment program in local hospitals on a trial basis.

 

　　But the pay-after-treatment approach will not be adopted nationwide in the short term due to an immature³ social credit system and insufficient⁴ medical insurance.

 

　　Currently, citizens must pay first before receiving an operation or treatment.

 

　　They must pay their bills and then apply for a reimbursement⁵ covered by medical insurance, usually more than 70 percent of treatment fees.

 

　　Once the new system is implemented⁶, after the treatment, patients will pay the amount that is not included in the medical insurance. The rest will be paid to hospitals by the government and the insurance companies.

 

　　Bloggers' opinion:

 

　　"Of course the new approach is good for the patients. But for the vulnerable group who cannot afford to pay the costs of medical treatment, paying after receiving treatment will not necessarily solve their problems. So, the government and the whole society should give them financial support, rather than shift the burden onto the hospitals."

 

　　"To me, 'Pay before treatment' and 'Pay after treatment' don't have too much difference. It's just a change in the payment approach. At best, it can save time for patients. Pay-after-treatment doesn't mean you don't have to pay it."

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

4 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

5 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句