China to Expand National Health Coverage to Include 20 Major Diseases

News provided by

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited

Sep 25, 2012, 06:00 ET

BEIJING, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited ("Concord Medical" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCM), a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, comments on the recently announced guidelines on implementing major disease health insurance by the Chinese government.

At the end of August, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of China, together with five other central government departments, announced guidelines to expand the coverage of the nation's healthcare insurance system to include the treatment of 20 major diseases. The goal is to prevent patients with these major diseases from being reduced to extreme poverty by catastrophic household healthcare costs.

Among the 20 critical diseases, eight are cancers, including lung, stomach, breast cancers and child leukemia, the most prevalent types of such in China. This corresponds to the rapid rise of cancer incidence and mortality in China in recent years.

According to reports, local governments around the country have been required to design supporting local regulations to implement the central governments' guidelines by the end of 2012, in line with local conditions.

"We are very pleased to see that the Chinese government is dedicating more resources to fight major diseases, such as cancer. The regulation environment is becoming more favorable to cancer-related healthcare services companies such as Concord Medical," Dr. Jianyu Yang, Chairman and CEO of Concord Medical, comments. "The new policies will make our services accessible to more patients in China. We are determined to take advantage of the latest change, and accelerate our effort in building our cancer specialty hospitals, with the goal of becoming a leading cancer hospital management group in China."

About Concord Medical

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited operates the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, measured by revenues and the number of centers in operation. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated a network of 133 centers with 75 hospital partners that spanned 52 cities and 24 provinces and administrative regions in China. Under long-term arrangements with top-tier hospitals in China, Concord Medical provides radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging equipment and manages the daily operations of these centers, which are located on the premises of its hospital partners. The Company also provides ongoing training to doctors and other medical professionals in its network of centers to ensure a high level of clinical care for patients. For more information, please see http://ir.concordmedical.com.

For more information, please contact:

Concord Medical Services

Mr. Tony Tian
[email protected]
(+86) 10 5957-5287

Solebury Communications

In China:
Ms. Ran Zhang
[email protected]
(+86) 10 6563-0288

In the United States:
Mr. Richard Zubek
[email protected]
(+1) 203-428-3230

SOURCE Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited