Every farmer in Tianjin, the coastal city of northern China, is expected to enjoy medical insurance by 2007, thanks to the establishment of a new type of rural cooperative medical system.

Related departments in the municipality recently said the rural cooperative medical system has so far covered over 1.17 million farmers, accounting for around one third of the rural population in the city.

The cooperative medical system is part of the central government's drive to offer medical services to rural communities.

The medical system is a pilot project initiated in 2003. By the end of June 2004, the project had been implemented in 310 counties in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, covering 68.99 million rural residents, according to the Ministry of Health.

Rural residents participate in the program as a household unit. Each year a family hands over 10 yuan (US$1.20) per member. Both the central and provincial governments pump money into the system.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2005)