(Source: CGTN)

Beijing started a landmark reform in healthcare on Saturday. The new policies separate drug sales from medical treatment at public hospitals, aiming to lower medical expenses and improve services for patients.

On the first day of the medical reform, Ms. Wang came to this high-level hospital for Vitamin E ointment. But she decides to leave and go to her community hospital after asking about the prices. Here, the ointment only costs 6 yuan. But she needs to pay 10 yuan for a single medical service fee. Here is the question the patients care about most: Will they have to pay more after the medical reform?

For diabetes, hypertension, pneumonia, gastritis and other common and chronic diseases treated by clinics, post-reform medical expenses are falling from more than 600 yuan to around 560 yuan, an average of 7%.

It's a different story for hospitalized patients being treated for senile cataracts, angina, cerebral infarction, rheumatoid, and other common and chronic diseases. Their expenses grow from nearly 24,300 yuan to over 24400 yuan, an increase of 0.56%.

The change in medical expenditure results from a rise in costs of treatment offered by the medical staff, such as nursing and surgery, along with falls in the costs of drugs and large equipment inspection.