About 65.7 percent of China's population have no medical insurance, according to a blue paper in Beijing Wednesday (Dec 21).

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) issued a blue paper, titled "Analysis and predictions of China's social situation 2006".

A recent CASS survey shows approximately a quarter of those asked gave up medical insurance because they could not afford the premiums, the paper said.

By the end of Sept., 133.41 million urban workers were insured for medical insurance and 5.038 billion yuan (672.5 million U.S. dollars) was been distributed to 119 million Chinese peasant farmers who participated in the rural cooperative medical insurance system.

The blue paper stressed "it is difficult and expensive to seek medical advice and policy-making departments are urged to have more thought on the government's role in the country's health care system."

Ordinary Chinese people find it too expensive to go to hospital and about 48.9 percent choose not to seek medical attention when they have an illness, according to China's third survey of health care services earlier this month.

A medical bill scandal involving treatment costs as high as 10 million yuan (1.23 million US dollars) for a patient in a northeast China's Harbin hospital has drawn a lot of attention and criticism from the public recently.

In 1985, China launched reforms of its public health care system which expanded the decision-making power of hospitals. Government investment in this area has been gradually reduced.

Currently, governments contribute only 15 percent of total health care costs while patient fees make up 60 percent, sources with the Chinese Ministry of Health said.

Editor: Wing