During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, medical reform will be deepened, with plans to establish approximately 1,000 closely-knit county-level medical consortia.

Image Source: CCTV 13

DentalGoodNews｜March 7, 2026 – At the press conference on people's livelihood during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, Lei Haichao, Minister of the National Health Commission, introduced the development achievements of China's health sector during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and elaborated on the main directions for the reform of the medical and health system and the construction of the medical service system during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

For the "15th Five-Year Plan", the National Health Commission will focus on optimizing the structure of the medical service system and deepening medical reform. One of the core initiatives is to promote the construction of compact county-level medical alliances. Lei Haichao stated that the plan for the next five years is to build approximately 1,000 compact county-level medical alliances, aiming to further implement the tiered diagnosis and treatment system by integrating county-level medical resources and strengthening primary-level capabilities.

Regarding the medical service system, China's primary-level medical service capacity has continued to improve. Lei Haichao indicated that in 2025, the number of patient visits to primary-level medical and health institutions accounted for 52.6% of the national total. In recent years, both the volume and proportion of primary-level diagnoses and treatments have achieved "dual growth." Meanwhile, the number of national medical and health institutions has exceeded 1.1 million, with the total number of medical and health personnel surpassing 16.08 million, including approximately 5.29 million licensed (assistant) physicians and over 6.03 million registered nurses, significantly improving the accessibility of medical services. Currently, over 90% of residents can reach the nearest medical service point within 15 minutes.

Simultaneously, the Health Commission plans to establish referral and consultation centers at the prefecture-level city level to improve the referral and collaboration mechanisms among medical institutions within regions. Through a unified referral and consultation platform, the continuity of medical services will be enhanced, helping patients more efficiently match with appropriate hospitals, departments, and doctors, thereby optimizing the healthcare pathway.

In terms of medical and health system reform, the future will continue to promote the medical reform experience represented by Sanming and, combined with 177 demonstration projects for public hospital reform and high-quality development, further strengthen the public welfare nature of public hospitals and improve the quality and efficiency of medical services.

Minister Lei Haichao stated that the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial stage for advancing the Healthy China strategy. The country will continuously enhance the fairness and accessibility of medical services and further improve the tiered diagnosis and treatment system by strengthening primary-level capabilities, optimizing the allocation of medical resources, and deepening medical reform.