Abstract

China has made considerable progress in economic, social, cultural and political fields since reform and opening-up started in 1978. In the last forty years the country lifted over 700 million people out of poverty by implementing large-scale, long-lasting, government-led, and very effective rural poverty alleviation and development plan. In health care financing, the country also achieved universal health insurance coverage for 1.3 billion people in a short time, and that is astonishing. This study tried to draw a lesson for developing countries by analyzing China’s rural poverty alleviation programs through health care financing. To this end, a study was conducted in Taijiang County in Guizhou province of the People’s Republic of China, in six impoverished villages. Data were collected for this study in a three month period (December 2018 to February 2019) through a questionnaire, focus group discussions and interviews. This study seek to answer the following two questions: What lessons do the Chinese experiments of poverty alleviation through health care financing offer to other developing countries? Are the Chinese experiences replicable elsewhere in the third world? To answer these questions, a deductive approach was adopted in this study methodology. First, China’s rural poverty alleviation programs was explored in general and based on this the rural development efforts in Taijiang County, in particular was examined. This study showed that clear government vision and determination, and popular participation have great contribution in China’s rural poverty alleviation through health care financing. The government used very effective poverty alleviation approaches that include “comprehensive control and development area by area,” “poverty alleviation village by village,” “participatory poverty alleviation,” and “one plan, implementation year by year”. Such approaches have not only made significant contributions to China’s rural poverty alleviation, but also become recognized as best practices for poverty alleviation in developing countries. It is believe that the basic strategies, models, and experiences of poverty alleviation of China are significant references for developing countries.

Key words: China, poverty, developing countries, health care financing.