China reduces taxes for rare-disease drugs

2019-03-07 16:36:56 Xinhua Xinhua

The following are the highlights of China's key health news from the past week:

-- China reduces taxes for rare-disease drugs

A total of 21 rare-disease drugs and four active pharmaceutical ingredients are the first to enjoy China's Value Added Tax (VAT) reduction policy, starting March 1.

The new policy aims to lower the cost for patients with rare diseases and encourage the development of the pharmaceutical industry.

According to the policy, the VAT rate for the import of rare-disease drugs is reduced to 3 percent.

-- China's basic medical insurance expenditure hits 1.76 trillion yuan in 2018

The income and expenditure of China's basic medical insurance fund hit 2.11 trillion yuan (314.8 billion U.S. dollars) and 1.76 trillion yuan respectively in 2018, statistics from the National Healthcare Security Administration showed Friday.

As of the end of 2018, the balance of the fund stood at 2.32 trillion yuan, according to the administration.

-- Rate of breastfeeding in China lower than 30 percent

The rate of breastfeeding for infants under six months old in China is 29.2 percent, according to a recent survey by China Development Research Foundation.

The survey, conducted between September 2017 to January 2018 among over 10,000 mothers with infant children across the country, also found that only 11.3 percent of the participants breastfed their children within an hour of birth.

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