Medical care reform: making it easier to see a doctor

But the climate changed in the 1980s when public health institutions were left to feed themselves because of lack of government funds. A guiding principle was that hospitals should and could be managed like enterprises according to economic rules, a novel idea for most Chinese. It was a starting point for hospitals to generate their own revenue by raising fees and aggressively selling drugs.

From that time, Song and his fellow villagers came to feel the burden of the costs of medicine. Living in a poverty-stricken county, Song and his wife earn less than 10,000 yuan annually by constructing houses in the five-thousand-people village, peopled by the Miao nationality.

In 2006, Song suffered severe piles and kept bleeding for a month. At first, he chose to stay at home instead of seeking treatment.

Like Song, it is common for many Chinese peasants to "expect self-cure in face of small illnesses and await death in the face of big illness".

But the severe health condition compelled Song to visit the doctor, but neither the clinic in the village nor the county hospital could handle his complex problem.